Life and Adventures of the Jenkins Revealed

Beach combing

2010-07-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

These are pictures from a couple months ago, but worth posting. Cora's friend Clay is an expert beach comber and teaches her all kinds of things about marine life.

More pictures soon of our summer fun.

Happy Days

2010-05-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

So, yes, I know, I'm the most sporadic blogger ever, and most of you my friends have given up on me and probably never check here anymore unless you have a blog reader that alerts you to the off-chance update. Just so you know I have started many blog posts over the past few months (and even more in my head) but there seems to be so much to say that I never finish until its just old news and so they keep sitting in the draft box. Here goes another attempt, but I find it's so difficult to try to capture what's going on in my head and heart and life. Life is so full to the brim of joy and excitement around here that it can hardly be expressed in my faltering words!

We reached another milestone of our lives in April: the excitement of David graduating with his MDiv (which as his professor said at the graduation ceremony does not mean becoming a Master of Divinity, but rather Master of becoming mastered by the Divinity. Truly.) It has been an unbelievable journey of change and growth and profundity and humility. It seems surreal for him to be finished. But he has sucked every drop out this experience and is so excited about God's next adventure in store.

Right now that adventure means a summer of parenting and continuing life as it is while I spend a gorgeous Vancouver summer madly trying to take two courses and write a 40,000 word thesis. All while struggling with mommy brain during those final months of pregnancy (only 18 weeks left. Eek.)

It also means taking some much needed downtime before starting the craziness of a brand new career. Which for David, of course means sailing. He has joined a few guys that own a sailboat in doing a bit of a co-op so that he can sail regularly this summer. This weekend he is out with one of his best guy friends on a weekend sail over to the islands. I am missing him terribly, as are the girls who are ridiculously attached to him. He's sort of the stable center around whom all we girls flit about. When he's missing we're just going in circles!

Hannah and Cora are keeping us laughing constantly. They keep me grounded in what's important after long days in my head at the library! They have such fun personalities. Every day I feel overcome with feelings of gratefulness to God for allowing me to be the mother of two such amazing people. Already I can see they are so diverse and yet equally so gifted and beautiful. Their crazy antics bring so much exuberant joy to this home!

At a recent parent-teacher meeting, Cora's teacher gave us some fabulous insight into her strengths--things we know so well, but hearing the perspective from someone so experienced in child development was fun. Some of Cora's particularly strong traits she mentioned are her compassion--she's always noticing and caring for others; strength and confidence--she stands up for herself using her words, and knows just what she likes to do; tells stories and loves to make people laugh (David and I get this side at dinner every night!); happy to share and take-turns; absolutely loves story-time and is a great listener.

Another thing about Cora is her growing spiritual awareness. Sometimes she surprises us with the sweetest things. A recent example is in the car one day when we heard the song "There Will Be a Day" and it speaks of seeing Jesus face to face. David told her that this song is about when we are with Jesus forever. She listened for a moment and said, "It says we'll see His face! And we're going to run to Him, right? Yeah, 'cuz I love Jesus so much!" It was one of those melt-your-heart moments that lifts your own heart in worship.

Olympics Fever

2010-02-21T21:32:00.000-08:00

Hannah was fascinated with the lights and tall buildings.

Watching the US-Canada hockey game on the big screen.

Taking a rickshaw ride.

School Photo...1st of Many!

2010-02-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

Hannah's Birthday

2010-02-06T10:45:00.000-08:00

Sweet Hannah turned one on Thursday! Cora's first birthday involved a huge party with all our friends, visiting grandparents, a cookout, balloons, and lots of presents. Hannah is the stereotypical second-born. She got a nice family dinner, a birthday cake celebration with our close family friends Dana, Justin and Clay, skyped-in grandparents, and no presents except a handmade butterfly card from Cora, which actually turned out to be quite exciting for her. However, another perk of being second-born: there was a lot more sugar in this birthday cake than my super-healthy carrot cake for Cora. Hannah loves her food, and she gobbled this!

Hannah Shalom's stats:

Disposition: Constantly laughing and smiling, unless she's hungry or mad when she can throw big fits

Personality: Spunky, determined, independent, our wild child

Favorite place: Anywhere outside, or if inside, on top of the kids table

Favorite things: shoes and avocado

First steps: About a month ago, but still much prefers crawling

Hannah, you bring so much life and joy to this family! Thanks be to God for the blessing of this special first year with you.

Festival of Lights

2009-12-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

Last night in celebration of the completion of our semester we went to the Festival of Lights at some nearby gardens. There were paths and paths of enchanting lights, and Cora led the way running down different paths and exclaiming "Christmas lights!" over and over, just as she does in the car every time we pass them. She also enjoyed a visit with Santa and dancing with the Dancing Lights to the Nutcracker Suite. Oh, and the Gingerbread house. She couldn't get enough of playing in that!

A Preschool Christmas

2009-12-11T11:02:00.000-08:00

Last night was the preschool Christmas party. The kids were so so cute with their singing and playing and visiting Santa. Cora, Clay, and Charlotte are a bit cliquish, and haven't branched out very well into developing other friendships. When Cora mentions someone from class, we say, "Oh, is that your friend at school?" And she says, "No, not my friend. Clay and Charlotte are my friends." Needless to say, the three were running around together last night, holding onto each other and giggling and running into adult's legs. I overheard their teacher saying "Those three are so cute!" Ahhh, that's a relief to hear, rather than just "Those three. Sigh." Cora and Clay were particularly crazy, dancing and giggling together for ages. I decided to get a little video, and what I ended up with is pretty scandalous.

The concert:

Cora asked for a ball from Santa. No problem.

Thanksgiving Monday

2009-11-08T20:46:00.000-08:00

The Thanksgiving festivities continued on Monday with a trip to the Applebarn with friends for animals, hayrides, pumpkins, and apple-picking.

Sorry for the excessive amount of pictures--I had trouble narrowing it down.

You can see the trepidation in their faces.

Rock-scrambling

Finally warming up to the goats.

Hayride

Choosing pumpkins

Best friends

They were really excited about the concept of "teamwork"

3-year old conversations are the best to listen in on

Some more teamwork going on.

The things we do for the perfect apple.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-08T12:44:00.000-08:00

O Thou who has given us so much,
mercifully grant us one thing more-
a grateful heart.
-George Herbert

I couldn't let October pass by without recording the very best part of that very best month: Thanksgiving weekend. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving--appropriately as my farmer friends add--at harvest. And where better to celebrate than on a farm, surrounded by the autumnal color and bounty . We've taken care to stay as close as possible to our food sources this year, buying local and in season, and growing some of our own. So, riding our bikes down to the UBC farm and being fed a feast of freshly picked beets, carrots, potatoes, chard, cabbage, applesauce and pumpkins, completed with stuffing made from home-baked bread and a free-range turkey, made this Thanksgiving seem more fitting, more true to its original purpose than any before, as a day for praise to the Creator for the provision of our daily food--a much more obscure truth when you pluck a box off the grocery store shelf.

It was a pleasant day, so we ate out in the greenhouse.

November charms

2009-11-05T13:31:00.001-08:00

I have been bemoaning the passing of October, decidedly the best month. But November is not all sogginess and bone-chilling wind and shockingly early darkness and runny noses (though there is a lot of that around here already.) It has its own charms. Perfect toadstools, remaining bits of blazing color amidst the bounty of browns, relatively mild fall afternoons for backyard play, and early candlelit dinners of stew, chili, pumpkin soup, and more stew.

Cora's favorite outdoor pastime is making "stew"

BTW: that one tooth has been around since she was 3 1/2 months. I thought she was an early teether, but she's almost 9 months now and no more have poked through. Apparently it's just the unruly rogue.

Cora's hand-me-down coat from the Alpharetta neighbors. Thank goodness we had another girl for this precious stuff.

Backyard play with friends.

Such blue eyes, just like her daddy.

Halloween

2009-10-31T21:41:00.000-07:00

October is going out with a bang. (Literally. This city loves fireworks on Halloween.) This weekend is packed full with 3 kiddie birthday parties, 2 adult Halloween parties (you should see David's costume, but he made me swear not to post pictures. Something about pastoral search committees), a fall festival at the UBC Botanical gardens, and trick-or-treating in our student-family housing, pedestrian-only neighborhood, which equals: hundreds of children.

Tonight I had the fun of watching my daughter turn from a greedy hoarder into an enthusiastic giver. As our massive bowl of candy dwindled in the face of the hundreds of children charging our house, I began picking through Cora's trick-or-treating pumpkin bag for some more fodder (i.e. the pieces I don't really like). As I'd drop them in the bowl, about every other piece Cora would say "I like that" and put it back in her pumpkin. That was fine and at least the hoards were slowing. I left her in charge of distribution to the stragglers in order to go get Hannah warmed up and ready for bed, but I could hear her voice downstairs as she kept excitedly coming into the house to get more candy from her bag until it was depleted as well. "I need more candy! There's more kids!" Once she was in charge of the giving, she discovered it's much more fun to give than to hoard all for yourself. It was a good lesson for me, considering before the kids came I had already pulled all the Twix and Butterfingers out of the bowl and now have them hoarded in my top cupboard.

A very enthusiastic Tinkerbell and dragon.

The best friends: two fairies and a dragon.

Visiting the botanical gardens.

They belonged in a fairytale!

And later for trick-or-treating. These guys are inseparable.

What did you get?

The fairy godmother. And her monkey? Which story is that again?

Look at that face Hannah has. Candy even tastes great with the wrapper on. Speaking of yummy wrappers, at a bonfire birthday party last night, I let a fussy Hannah gnaw on my cupcake wrapper, thinking she'd like the taste but would only get a few crumbs. Next thing I knew, the wrapper was only a tiny tattered remnant. So much for only crumbs.

Cora expressed a mixture of both fear and fascination with the costumed characters coming to our door.

First Day of School!

2009-09-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

Today was Cora's first day of preschool! It was bitter sweet for me. I'm so excited to see her grow and develop and gain new experiences, but also sad as part of me wants her to just stop growing and stay this precious, caring, silly little three-year-old forever.

She loves her school. Today as many of the other 3-year-olds nervously clung to parent's pantlegs, Cora jumped into playing with the experienced 4-year-old second years. Her teachers are Ms. Christa and Ms. Danielle, the latter of whom Cora will only call Ms. Dana because she's so familiar with our friend Dana. When I tell her "Dan-ielle" she says, "I can't say that."

Off she goes.

Bye, Mom!

She loves the kitchen and the dollhouse the most. Very girly!

Get a grip

2009-09-14T21:33:00.001-07:00

Cora loves the zipline, and isn't scared at all even though it can go pretty fast, though to be honest, her mother was a little!

Vancouver Biking

2009-09-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

Vancouver graced our last few days before the furiously busy semester started with the most perfect, cloudless, 65-degree, slightly breezy, glorious weather. We wasted the weekend away light-hearted and carefree, riding bikes around the seawall, sitting around in the grass visiting with neighbors, taking walks and trying out my new $5 roller blades from the University Chapel rummage sale.

Our car unfortunately was not in good spirits despite the gorgeous weather. He got sick, leaving David stranded a couple miles from home with both the girls on his way home from errands on Saturday evening. A neighbor friend ended up "towing" it back home with a rope behind his Honda Pilot.

That left us without a car for church. We could have taken the bus. But I decided I wanted to use my new roller blades. So, I strapped them on with my nice trousers and fresh makeup and set off pushing the jogging stroller with Hannah in it for the three-mile ride. Dave followed close behind on his bike with Cora in her bike seat. It felt great. Until the hills. I hadn't remembered there being much of any hills. I arrived to church sweaty and red-faced and a few minutes late. We had a barbecue after the service, and I don't know if it was the endorphins or the shiny face, but I've never had so many people comment on how energetic and happy I looked!

Hannah was much happier when we weren't moving.

Cora enjoyed watching the raccoons who were very bold about asking us for some food.

The best thing about special family days is the chocolate gelato!

Place and Home

2009-08-29T22:40:00.000-07:00

Two weeks now in this new home. And, as life tends to be around the Jenkins house, it's been quite eventful. Amongst loads of cleaning, unpacking, organizing, reorganizing, arranging furniture, rearranging furniture, moving the furniture outside because the next-door laundry room hot water heater burst and flooded our downstairs, recleaning, rearranging, etc., there's also been a fabulous flurry of people in and out: four dinner parties (one of which was for 16 people for our home group), houseguests for two nights, a host of spontaneous visits and playdates with friends that live further away, as well as delightful entry into the lively community immediately surrounding us. This area is abundantly more conducive to community than apartment living, and therefore is so much more enriching and ideal for our style of living! For example, last night we enjoyed going to an engagement party for a couple just across from us, that although we have only known for two weeks are quickly becoming close friends simply through proximity and chatting together most every day while their 3-year old son plays with Cora. Tonight, as we ate dinner together as a family in our "backyard", a huge green space shared by all the surrounding townhouses, some neighbors brought us over some incredible chicken and lamb they had just grilled out insisting that we try some (which ended up falling like a little gift from God as our simple vegetarian meal turned out to be a bit lacking.) In typical Filipino fashion, it required four times for us to finally assure them that we had plenty and didn't need anymore. It's all exactly our cup of tea.

As it's a pedestrian-only neighborhood full of families, it's also so perfect for Cora. She has so many playmates and is enjoying much more outdoor time than was possible in our apartment. Here are the three musketeers who have been almost inseparable these past couple weeks:

Being here has helped me understand better the importance, and distinctiveness, of place and home. We can make a home anywhere, and it will be rich because it includes our family and hospitality and good food and a comfortable atmosphere. But choosing the right place for our home is crucial for augmenting the values we hold as a family, those of community and simplicity and sharing and leisure time not predominantly spent in front of a television or computer, but in the company of God image-bearers. We won't always find a fit like this--being in family housing on a large university campus obviously has the advantages of diversity, children, and varying intellectual pursuits. But the value of community-style living that we experienced in our community house combined with having our own space and home is something I hope we can work hard to find wherever we end up in the future.

Crazy Child!

2009-08-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

Hannah is absolutely nuts! We have all these fantastic toys for her that are barely used. Her swing and bouncy chair and bumpo and exersaucer are all useless already as she hates to be contained. Even her regular toys are usually ignored. The only thing she loves, loves, is furniture or anything she can use to pull up on. I can put her in the middle of the floor surrounded by toys, but in a jiffy she's at the couch pulling herself up to standing. She's even begun cruising along it with small faltering steps. What the Babycenter milestones list puts as an advanced skill for an 8-month old, Hannah has mastered at 6 1/2.

Here she is in three different rooms in the house finding something on which to pull up. She especially loves the still-unhung mirror in our hallway--it has slobbery kissing marks all over it.

Flower Girl #2

2009-08-24T21:21:00.000-07:00

She's for hire if you want one for your wedding.

New Skills

2009-08-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

Hannah has been so excited about her new skill of pushing herself from a lying down to sitting up position that she hasn't slept in a week. Not enough anyway. Consequently, nor have I. At least twice in the night, she fails to quickly put herself back to sleep like the good old days, but sits up and starts talking, so proud of herself. Since she's sharing a room with Cora, I have to drag myself out of bed before long and go remind her that it's the middle of the night, not play time, then nurse her back to sleep. Going to bed time has been very difficult too: if I don't nurse her all the way to sleep, as soon as I lay her down she pops herself upright, even if she's dead tired.

Today after a long morning swimming with my oldest friend in the world, Erin, and her two sweet boys similar in age to Cora and Hannah, both girls were so tired. Cora curled up in her bed without a problem, but Hannah was not interested in nursing nor in lying down. She only would sit in bed and cry from being so tired. I waited and waited for her to get herself to sleep, but it was not happening. She just would not lie down! Finally, I left for a few minutes and at one point it quieted down, so I peeked in, and there were the two of them sitting in the crib together, playing with blankets. Cora piped up that she was "helping Hannah." She is an extremely empathetic little thing and can't stand for anyone to be upset.

Yesterday at naptime we had the same problem, and I thought I'd catch her on video so her daddy can have a peak. Tomorrow we'll be back home, so no more missing his girls!

Mommies and Babies

2009-08-14T05:46:00.000-07:00

Playing Outside

2009-08-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

One of the many wonderful joys of coming home for visits is the incredible photography of my mom, brother, and sister-in-law. Check out some of the fruits of their artistic labor. I only have a fraction of it on my computer, so more will be coming soon.

In mom's backyard:

Snacking on the roof her her beloved playhouse:

At a park with the cousins:

Getting tired:

Birthday Boy

2009-08-10T07:20:00.000-07:00

This cute little guy is 29 today.

1981:

2009:

Those sparkly blue eyes have seen a lot of adventuring in the between years. Singing his way across Europe. Biking the U.S. coast to coast. Skiing the American Rockies. Hiking the Canadian Rockies. Scuba diving in Jamaica. Sailing the Atlantic coast. Climbing Scottish Munros. Eating bear in Bhutan. Getting sick in India. Boating the Italian Veneto. Camping in Romania. Twice he’s driven his laboring wife to the hospital. Thrice he’s changed careers (bicycle mechanic to physicist to civil engineer to…pastor?) I can’t wait to see what’s still to come.

David, if I had to describe you in five words, this is you: Spirit-filled, genuine, peaceful, adventurous, faithful. 11 years ago you captured me with your smile and humor and kindness, and today I am ever so much more captivated by the extraordinary man you are.

Tonight you’re playing poker with the guys while your three girls are missing you 3,000 miles away. I’m so sad I’m not by your side tonight, honey. But I can’t tell you how happy I am that I’m by your side for life.

[David's birthday is the 9th, but I was having internet trouble last night so am only posting it this morning.]

Wedding Weekend

2009-07-30T21:03:00.001-07:00

Kurt and Alesha's wedding was one of the best ever. It fit them perfectly by being totally chill and relaxed. The Agur estate is a dreamland for both children and adults, so all three of us enjoyed spending the day there all day Friday and Saturday, and waking up to leisurely morning with coffee on the dock on Sunday before the 5 hour drive home.

Since Dave has been in, played the piano for, or officiated so many weddings, he knows exactly what needs to happen, so he ended up being put on wedding coordinator duty. With Hannah strapped to his chest, he ran the rehearsal and then gave everyone their cues for ceremony.

Some scenes from Friday:

Trampoline with a view

Hannah and her matching dinner companion, Alesha's sister Andrea

Here's a little video of the polypropylene oven mitts-turned-dancing boots. These things kept her busy for ages to the delight of the entire dinner party.

An after dinner swim in the lake

Fun with the bridesmaids during pictures:

Being a flower girl is SO MUCH FUN!!!

Sneakpeak

2009-07-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

Cora was only the cutest flower girl ever! She did a fantastic job walking down the aisle, dropping petals, and charmingly smiling at all the guests.

Here's one photo, but I have many more cute ones from the whole weekend to show soon (after I come up for air from this busy week).

Check out a few more awesome wedding photos at the photographers blog: http://www.jenifersander.blogspot.com/.

Blazing Summer

2009-07-16T10:47:00.001-07:00

The long silence is explainable. Really. We are having a wild ride of a summer, just trying to keep up with God who seems to be moving a hundred miles an hour in our lives. Here is a list of some of the events of our summer so far, and some still to come:

A series of 7 baby and wedding showers, 4 of which I hosted, within a single month.
Meals and visits for all the above friends and their new babies.
Saying goodbye to best friends moving home to England.
Visits from parents.
A bizarre and unfortunate series of events involving a car-eating squirrel and a totally incompetent mechanic which led to the totaling of our beloved Mazda Tribute and the purchase of a cute little blue VW Golf, 2002, manual, which barely seats our family, but is really fun to drive around town.
An intensive Old Testament course for me (a semester's worth in less than a month.)
An extremely intensive course schedule for Dave: Reading Film Theologically, Spiritual Discernment, and the mother of all beasts, two semesters of Hebrew crammed into 7 weeks. He memorizes about 30-50 Hebrew words a day and spends 9 hours a day in classes and studying. Fortunately, he's amazing at languages, so he's not as stressed as most of his classmates. He just finished the first semester's worth with an A+, despite all the distractions, particularly two little ones, that his single friends don't have.
A whirlwind 4-day trip to London and Nottingham for me, attending a conference with my thesis supervisor on economics, ethics, and theology, as well as a quick visit to the above said friends. David and his mom kept the household running and the girls fed (which was quite a feat with Hannah, who detests bottles.)
A 12-week Wednesday night Bible study meeting in our home going through the book Sacred Marriage.
All interspersed with all your typical kid stuff: playing at the beach and pool and free water park, picking huckleberries and salmon berries in the cool woods, gardening and biking; and the not so typical: an MRI and lots of doctors appointments (all of which confirm God's abundant grace in Cora's life!!)

And still to come within the next two weeks:

A weekend trip to the Okanagan for a wedding, in which Cora and I get to be a flower girl and bridesmaid.
A move. Only a quarter mile away, but considering everything must still be packed and unpacked, it might as well be miles. We're moving from an apartment to a townhouse that backs up onto a large green space shared by Cora's two best friends, Charlotte and Clay. We're continuing our trend: this will be our 8th move in our 8 years of marriage.
A two-week trip home to Atlanta for the girls and me while Dave finishes the last two weeks of Hebrew--and makes the actual move on Aug. 4th. I'm hoping to have things mostly packed and cleaned before leaving, and then Dave and his friends will move us on a Tuesday afternoon, between his 4-hour classes on Tuesday and Wednesday.

So, I am excused for the absence, yes?

Coffee

2009-05-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

We are making sure we teach Cora how to do the most important things in life.

Unfortunately we make our coffee in a French press every morning, and she's a little too young to be pouring boiling water. But grinding the beans for us is a start.

May Day

2009-05-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

It's been a driech day today, and yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. But the week before that Vancouver shone in all its springtime glory. We spent May Day at the beach for some much needed family time in the midst of a busy few weeks. More on that later, but here's a peak at a lazy morning in the wind and sun, drinking coffee and building sandcastles.

Around lunchtime, we all shared an order of Pad Thai from across the street. Some noodles inevitably ended up in the sand, which then became "sandworms". Cora's imagination leads to all kinds of role-playing these days, for which the whole family must join in. (I'm usually Rabbit (or Eeyore depending on my mood), David: Tigger, Cora: Pooh Bear, and Hannah: Piglet.) Well, worms are immediately associated with her friend Clay, who is a boy of all boys and is constantly grossing Cora and Charlotte out with his very boyish shenanigans. Like worms. He and his parents Dana and Justin are a very important part of our family's life, as you can see. So much so that it looks like Cora wants to be in their family....

The failed Easter photo shoot

2009-04-12T20:56:00.000-07:00

An attempt after church, a potluck and an Easter egg hunt to try and capture my two girls. Obviously Cora was hyped up on sugar.

Save me, Mom.

How about we just try me and Hannah?

He is risen!!!

2009-04-12T20:45:00.001-07:00

So says the easter bunny.

Happy Saturdays

2009-04-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the ladies at my church threw me a beautiful brunch shower. We played games and drank tea and laughed and enjoyed a glorious sunny morning and they all wrote a birthday card for Hannah, one each for the next twelve years.

The two friends: Jessica and Hannah

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, so after the shower I joined up with the family and our friends Esther and Kevin at the fisherman's wharf to see if our favorite fish and chips spot might measure up to their high British standards. The outdoor shack right by the local fishing boats always has a tell-tale line, but it's worth the wait. We lazily ate out on the seawall while Cora talked back to the seagulls who tenaciously asked us for our chips. Being Kev's birthday, we then went for a celebratory gelato, sitting in the sun by the duck pond and watching the power struggle between ducks, Canadian geese, and seagulls.

By the time we got home it was after four. We sat Cora down to have a rest and watch a little video. I joined her there after a few minutes while Hannah slept on my chest. Within just a few minutes, Cora too was fast asleep, so asleep that we had tremendous difficulty trying to wake her for dinner (which despite the grogginess she scarfed down: a fresh local tuna we bought from a fisherman straight off his boat that afternoon, marinated and just briefly seared--amazing!!! One of those treats I sorely missed while pregnant.)

Cora's Adventures

2009-04-01T12:22:00.000-07:00

Cora has two best friends, Clay and Charlotte, who live here on campus by us and with whom she is forever having adventures. Fortunately, their moms are two of my best friends as well! At least once a week, and usually two times, we are all together on some kind of outing, or playing indoors on a rainy day at one of our homes. Last week, it was the aquarium, and the week before that, a massive indoor carnival. Here are some highlights:

Clay evades a kiss!

Cora was alternately terrified and smiling with glee at the (very fast for a two-year old) carnival rides!

Hannah's Prayer Book - A Request

2009-04-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

My girlfriends threw me a beautiful baby shower after Hannah was born. They showered me with love and presents and a lovely tea party, but best of all, with blessings and prayers for Hannah. They created a scrapbook to hold all the prayers, and they each went around the circle and prayed allowed what they had written. Prayers like "I pray that you will grow in the knowledge and love of God, delight in his artistry, wonder at his forming you, praise for his goodness and love, and that your life will be a blessing to him and to all who know you." "May you grow into a woman of strength, confidence, compassion and love." "May you know the true freedom of walking tall in who you were made to be and letting God use you as you are to bless those around you." One of my favorites: "I pray that you would have a loving, supportive, life-giving relationship with your sister, that you would learn kindness, empathy and generosity from your father, that you would learn curiosity, confidence and playfulness from your mother, but most of all, that you might know your special place in the kingdom of God for he loves you has great plans for you."

However, this special book is only half full. For you particularly faithful friends and family that read this blog (for it takes a very faithful friend to read a blog that has such erratic and random posting), would you send me a prayer or blessing for Hannah? You could just e-mail me one line even, something I could print out and include. It would mean so much to me, and to Hannah some day.

April showers (of snow and smiles)

2009-04-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

The crazy Vancouver weather continues. From a sunny Sunday of playing ultimate frisbee in shorts to a 36-hour continuous rain in which I had to run my many errands with the two girls, to a blustery sunny Tuesday of playing outdoors with friends, to today: a sleeting, snowy mess. Dave is sad...in all his excitement about the new garden plot he rented, he went ahead and put lots of vegetable seeds in the ground during the past couple weeks. Doesn't look like he'll be seeing any sprouts soon. Poor guy.

Today is Hannah's 8 week birthday. I cannot even begin to express the joy and completeness she has brought to our family. Her middle name of Shalom turns out to be more apt than I ever thought possible, for she is God's gift of fullness, peace, wholeness to this family. All three of us are absolutely taken with her. Cora is, as always, a very compassionate child who at the least whimper by Hannah, jumps up to come to the rescue saying "Baby crying!" So, Hannah is never allowed to complain very much, Cora sees to that. But she doesn't complain much anyway. She is content and peaceful, and very attentive. We love the way she stares intently at us when in our arms. And the smiles! She readily rewards any attention with the most brilliant smiles. David is always laughing too at the way she already loves her mommy. She turns her head in search of me whenever she hears my voice.

Hannah and Jessica

2009-03-23T10:43:00.001-07:00

While we were bowling yesterday, Hannah was just passed around the entire time to many different people's arms. I finally lost track of her as there were about 50 people from our church there (it was a "small group challenge"). Finally, my friend Heather, our pastor's wife who had her own baby girl Jessica 3 days after I had Hannah, brought her back to me with a funny story. Apparently, someone had put Hannah in a lady's arms, but the lady thought she was getting Jessica. As she stood there enjoying "Jessica", she said to herself, "Why does this baby look SO much like David Jenkins?"

Isn't that crazy? I don't see it, but everyone is constantly exclaiming, "She looks just like her daddy!" But that's the clincher when someone who doesn't even know it's David's daughter thinks she looks like David.

Here are the two girls together, the toast of Dunbar Heights Baptist Church:

Another funny story about these two is that back in June, Heather and I were having a play date and Heather told me she was pregnant. I was jumping up and down in excitement for her, and then told her we might not be too far behind her, maybe 6 months or so, since we thought we might start trying for a second one in November. Little did I know, I was already expecting and would actually have a baby first!

For Grammie and Nana

2009-03-22T21:51:00.000-07:00

One of the BIG blessings of grandmothers is the beautiful clothes in which they keep their granddaughters! I had to post pictures of Hannah's sweet outfit from Nana, and Cora's beautiful dress from Grammie. We were all in our blue today to match the bright blue sky which seems a rarity around here. Everyone at church couldn't stop complimenting both girls--thanks Moms!

Running around after church.

Postscript: We went bowling today with people from church. Imagine our surprise to find that Canada has a very distinctive form of bowling: 5 smaller pins and lightweight hand-sized balls. I'm sure it was created in a need to be different from Americans. :-)

A Perfect Day...

2009-03-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

...well, at least as good as it can get in March in Vancouver. It's been a tough work week for David, so today finally was a family day. I woke up to Dave's hot coffee and huevos rancheros after the third straight night that Hannah slept like a dream--from 9:30 to 5:00 and again after a feeding until 8:30. The morning was spent lazily playing games with Cora: fishing off the couch and then cooking up and eating our catch, going to school, and a random assortment of imaginings that had me chuckling all morning at her. In the afternoon, we walked to the nearby beach, climbing down the 300 + stairs, Cora on Dave's back and Hannah on my chest, that lead down through the dense woods to the rugged shoreline. The isolated beach is clothing optional, but that's not a concern this time of year! An old man nearby made stunning music with a steel drum, music that blended with the waves as Cora and Dave danced and made footprints in the wet sand. The trek back up the steep stairs and the walk home had me huffing, but we stopped for a well-deserved hot chocolate at a Starbucks, just one of the many we have to choose from here on campus. It's getting to be that tough time of the semester, when the stress and information overload can begin to encroach on the quality of family life. But days like this, outside enjoying exercise and the sun and fresh air and gorgeous Vancouver, make such a difference to our minds and spirits.

The shockingly icy water got Dave moving--while Cora just chills unconcerned.

My view was particularly beautiful!

Sharing a hot chocolate.

Walking home.
The backdrop of mountains to our campus home takes my breath away on clear days!

The best laid plans go awry...and thank goodness

2009-03-17T18:55:00.001-07:00

I thought Scotland weather was crazy and unpredictable. Vancouver is ridiculous! Saturday it was mild and rained all day. Sunday we walked out of church to an absolute blizzard. Today I spent the day with friends at the sunny beach without even a jacket. We never know what to expect and I love it.

So, the three of us friends had originally planned to take our 5 kids to the aquarium. We had no idea. We spent the first 30 minutes just getting 5 car seats into the minivan; then I sat on the floor in the midst of them all. The things we do to save on petrol and parking. Arriving at the aquarium, the parking lot clued us in, but the line wrapping around the corner before we could even see the aquarium was the end of it. Spring break. Way too many kids. Not when we can have the place practically to ourselves any 'ole school day. How to tell the kids though? With lots of fake enthusiasm about the nearby park!!! It didn't work. There were some tears, and sweet Cora kept trying to be the peacemaker. I certainly gained new insight into her personality today. The park on a windy bluff got us all chilled to the bone. Hmm...perfect time for ice cream! So we tromped to the gelato place where we spread out with our packed lunches before agonizingly making our choice. Cora and I split two scoops, one of "the pink one" (rasberry) and one of pistachio. Very pretty together.

So far, so good. We were making this day fun for the kiddos despite the change in plans, and we moms were way more relaxed and having a blast along with them. Next on the agenda: the rabbits. We drove to a different beach and trampled through blackberry bushes to a hidden warren, with huge sleek wild rabbits, happy rabbits who know people bring treats. Cora was braver than usual, running to me and saying "Up, please" only once. Suddenly, Cora and her best friend Charlotte were bored of the rabbits and running off giggling to the beach. There, they and Clay climbed over rocks, hid in the hollow log, and throwing wet sand into the waves. Cora again surprised me with her courage, pulling off her socks and shoes and venturing into the freezing cold sea. She picked her way over the rocky shore and the gravelly path to the car without a complaint.

We came home wet, sandy, poopy (not me, but both girls!), exhausted, pink-cheeked and wind-blown, and so happy. Amazing what Vancouver scenes and vitamin D can do for a mood. Cora and I took a hot shower together and settled down for some quiet reading time. I put Cora in bed with some books and encouraged her to just read alone for a bit. I peaked in there 15 minutes later and she had turned her lamp off and was fast asleep. Since it was 4:30, I had to wake the poor thing up after only 20 minutes of sleep so she would sleep tonight. Then we made portobello pizzas with sausage and goat cheese, and got ready for our Tuesday night Bible study that meets here. It was one of those days where between my best friends and beautiful girls and breathtaking creation, I feel God's blessing and presence so manifest.

Hannah Shalom

2009-02-15T20:43:00.000-08:00

Today is my due date, but we've already had 11 amazing days with Hannah Shalom. Surely there is nothing more astounding and beautiful than holding one's newborn infant. Especially a tiny baby girl! (I know, I know, I'm just biased. Someday maybe I'll know what it's like to hold a newborn son too.) The computer has been the last thing I've wanted to look at when there's something so beautiful and silky-soft and sweet-scented to cuddle (not to mention feed every couple hours.) But here finally is a peak at the sweetie. This is a video of the devoted daddy with a rare awake moment:

New year, new life

2009-01-23T14:40:00.000-08:00

So much to catch up on, as usual. We had busy holidays in Atlanta--3 and a half weeks of living out of a suitcase back and forth at our two parents' houses. It was full and lovely, but we found it so refreshing to be back in our cozy apartment with just the three of us. As much as we love our families, being with people continuously for that long is tough, and we realized how much we enjoy having our own space and our quiet routines, even though there are still people popping in and out of it all day every day. At the Regent retreat in September, one of our professor couples talked on hospitality and I loved their line that "our homes need a hinge and a lock." A hinge to swing wide open to others, but a lock to close in on the family for space and rest and recuperation. We love people, but we also love quiet and just being with each other.

Only a few days after we returned, we started up our classes. David is taking "Advanced Exegesis on Mark" with a favorite, but as far as workload goes, notoriously evil, professor--Rikk Watts. Also, "Pastoral Care" and "Ministry and Spirituality." Plus, Supervised Ministry at the church continues. I'm taking "Christian Thought and Culture II." It's not overly demanding, and even with a new baby, it'll be nice to have a break to get out of the house a couple times a week for the lectures. Last semester was particularly arduous for both of us with our classload, certainly the most intense so far (although amazingly, shockingly, we somehow both finished strong and with perfect grades.) So, this semester is situated to be a bit more stress-free, if graduate school can ever be called that. The baby will of course fill up any slack in stress, however.

This past weekend we enjoyed the annual church retreat at a beautiful camp in the mountains. We were taught by the Scottish Bruce Milne out of Philippians, ate fantastic food, and laughed over the ridiculous skits and talent show. The highlight though was David's baptism. Being an intern at a Baptist church, it was decidedly time for him to have his adult baptism. But, being David, he thought it'd be fun to do it a little different. Plus, he says the Didache, a 2nd century document about discipleship, says if possible baptism should be done in "living water". So, he along with two other brave souls, endured the freezing waters of a mountain lake for their immersion. It was definitely analogous to a death and new life: he certainly felt invigorated and fully alive when he came up out of that water!

Here's his written testimony, although his spoken testimony that he gave (in the warmth of the chapel) that morning was a bit more detailed and beautifully spoken.

"Having grown up in the church, I have always been among the family of God, but not always in it. I always assumed I was a Christian because I went to church, but whenever I tried to understand the Kingdom of God, it seemed like a mystery I could not grasp. After my wife, Megan, and I moved to Edinburgh, Scotland for her to pursue her Master's degree, everything changed as God grabbed a hold of both our hearts. Megan and I began developing relationships within an amazing church body in the heart of Edinburgh, and Megan said something about memorizing the Sermon on the Mount, which I took as a challenge. As I hammered verse by verse into my head, there were certain passages that struck me. First I hit upon, “The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matt. 7:14). This did not match up with my life experience in the southeastern United States. Among the people I knew, it was rare for people not to label themselves as “Christian.” Second, what really caught my attention was in 7:21-23:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

I had never even prophesied, cast out demons, or done mighty works in his name – where did I fit in this statement?

I believe memorizing this verse was the impetus that caused my religious foundation built on the sand to finally collapse beyond repair. I had been working hard for many years at my Christian faith, and I was not able to do to wondrous miracles, yet even if I could do these miraculous deeds, they were not even good enough to get me into heaven! “Who then can be saved?”

My next journey was on the road of grace. Phillip Yancy’s What’s So Amazing About Grace began to open my eyes to the “scandal of the cross,” and Christianity’s distinction from all other works-based religions. Once I embraced grace, it was only natural to embrace the one who gives His grace unconditionally.

Though I was baptized as a child, I have discovered on my journey that the Bible testifies to special gifts for those who are baptized as believers. Primarily, I look to Jesus’ baptism in Luke 3:20-21. Jesus was fully God before he was baptized, yet when he is baptized, the Holy Spirit descends on him as a dove, and it is only after this event that Jesus begins his ministry. Furthermore, in this act, God the Father speaks and says, "This is my son, whom I love. In him I am well pleased." Although I have been a Christian for many years, I am anticipating my baptism, and whatever fruit may arise from it. My prayer is that in our baptisms, the Father will say to each one of us, "This is my daughter and son. In them I am well pleased.""

Did I mention there was snow on the ground. Yeah. It was cold.

Speaking of the weather, this was the first day since we arrived home that the sun came out! We have had not rain, but a tremendous amount of fog and gloom, and drifts of snow piled up on the sides of the roads. I think it's cool. But today as Cora and I drove to a friend's to pick up a bassinet we're borrowing for the baby and we crested a hill and looked out over a sparkling bay and white-capped mountains and the glimmering city buildings, I was struck anew by how beautiful this city is. Problem is we only can see it half the year!

Better go. Dave and I are in the middle of a Scrabble game, and he finally just took his turn.

Girls Weekend

2008-11-20T21:18:00.000-08:00

This weekend I got away for a fantastic girls weekend in L.A. My friend Teresa has been going through some significant health issues, so all of her best friends planned a secret surprise for her. A couple of her close friends are high-profile actresses, and they treated us to quite a program. Annie told me she'd have her assistant "arrange a ride" for me from the airport on Friday--I was picked up by a limo and taken through Beverly Hills to her beautiful house. All the girls gathered that evening, while another friend brought Teresa to Annie's house thinking she would be just having a quiet evening with a couple girlfriends. Well, it wasn't quiet! The eight of us gave her the shock of her life, especially the two of us that had flown in. The weekend was packed with fun: ordered-in brunch up in the outdoor cabana, a private yoga instructor who came to the house, a fantastic dinner out for which someone picked up the tab, getting to hear Teresa (a musician/songwriter) play a gig at a club, a big after party at Annie's house, and then a couple days of just chilling with Teresa, window shopping and lingering for hours over coffee. It was wonderful and I was spoiled to death, but at the same time, I was so ready to get home to my amazing husband and daughter and more sane lifestyle. While their life may be glamorous and exciting, it also felt chaotic and exhausting. I was so happy to be home to the peace and love and simplicity of my home and family.

The baby got lots of lovin'!

The eight of us.

With Annie.

With Teresa.

A must see...

2008-11-20T10:15:00.000-08:00

Along the same theme as "Billy"...

Billy the Goat

2008-11-13T17:23:00.000-08:00

Here's an e-mail David sent to our Tuesday night small group a couple days ago:

Hey all!

If you were not able to attend last week, you may be wondering why Jeremy has referred to a "goat." Therefore, I shall explain. Last week, the home group topic was "Give us our daily bread," and we began to recognize all the ways the Lord provides for our daily needs. For example, I shared one blessing Megan and I had just experienced. We needed a new floor lamp, but were hesitant to spend the money to buy a new one; therefore, we decided to pray about the decision. The next day, there was a floor lamp, free for the taking, standing by the door as we left Regent. Excitedly, we took the lamp home, but found that it had a burned-out bulb, and this was no ordinary bulb - it was a tube bulb that goes in lamps that gives a variable light. I was a little disappointed that God gave us a free lamp, but then required us to buy an expensive bulb; however, before I had the chance to go buy a new bulb, a worn-out lamp appeared by our dumpster, and inside that lamp was the exact bulb I needed, and it was still good! Seriously, only God does cool things like that! God has allowed us to keep our money and spend it on his kingdom.

So...enter the other aspect of "give us our daily bread." As believers united in one body with Christians around the world, God has chosen us as his agents to make sure our brothers and sisters do not go hungry, so when we pray "give us our daily bread" we are also entering into Jesus' commandment to take care of one another:

Matthew 25: 34-36: Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

Therefore, we have decided that as a small group, we should consider entering into radical discipleship for God's glory - the feeding of our sisters and brothers. This begins by both praying for our needs and thanking God for his provision. We often have a habit of praying before meals, but are we really expressing thankfulness to God for our meal? As we pray, we may be surprised in the way God supplies our needs. When God surprises us by meeting a need, we may wish to bring an offering for our jar at home group. I have placed $5 into the jar in thankfulness for our lamp.

Secondly, this may include intentionally doing without something so that we can provide for the needs of others. For example, I typically spend $1-2 for breakfast and $3-4 for lunch. If I were to fast for one (or both) of those meals, I would not only gain the spiritual blessing from Jesus, who promises "those who drink the water I give them will never thirst" John 4:14, but I will also be able to set aside the money I would have spent for my food, and put it into the small group jar.

Our end goal is to buy a goat (or something equivalent) for a village. Maimonedes (a Medieval Jew) defined the highest form of charity as this: "Money is given to prevent another from becoming poor, such as providing him with a job or by teaching him a trade or by setting him up in business [or providing a goat, trout pond, cow, etc.] and not be forced to the dreadful alternative of holding out his hand for charity. This is the highest step and the summit of charity's golden ladder."

This may sound ambitious, but all we can do is test what James means when he says, "You do not have, because you do not ask God" (4:2).

Blessings!
David

Dave mentioned our most recent little God-gift: the lamp. We had another huge God story just a couple months before that, which has spurred on our faith for this endeavor of living more trustfully and justly.

It was the beginning of September, and we were keeping and using some things for our old housemate, Alesha, while she was spending the summer in Africa. The main thing was a kitchen table (and a floor lamp!) We knew she was coming home soon and would need everything back, so we began looking on Craig's List to see if we could find something for a good price. I had in mind what I would really love: a round, dark wood table with a leaf we could add to extend it for more. For a month there was nothing like that for sale, all too big, too small, or Ikea tables that sell for about as much as you pay for them new. We were disappointed, especially realizing the amount we were hoping to spend would not be enough. So we began to pray about it. Novel idea. Then the call from Alesha came. She would come for a visit on Friday, and I knew it would be helpful for her if we could give it back even though she wouldn't ask. We were down to the wire. That week we e-mailed about a cheap table that would do but then it ended up being sold already anyway. Friday morning I went for a little playdate with Heather, our pastor's wife. We were outside with the kids playing, when we walked into the garage to get the bikes. And there was my table. It was exactly what we were looking for, exactly.
"What are you doing with this table?"
"Oh, we've been trying to get rid of that for months. Do you want it?"
Uh, yeah. And for free too.
It was perfect timing, and perfect that Craig's List had been so lacking, and perfect that our one option had already sold. It was such a testimony of provision, and we wondered why we don't pray about every little thing before buying it. Which made us decide to change that as much as possible. Here's our lovely table, empty and surrounded by friends, as well as a couple of our living room while I'm at it to give you a feel for our apartment, which seems cozier than the pictures capture:

Church, Regent, and the Everyday

2008-11-09T16:19:00.000-08:00

These shots are from after church this morning. Cora looked so cute in her little gray jumper dress and navy pea coat!

My wireless on my laptop has fizzled. I can either hook up by cord that limits me to one location at our house--on one side of our couch that's not my favorite--or use David's laptop when it's sitting around. The extra effort for e-mail, Facebook, blogging, etc. means not very much correspondence with friends, but much greater productivity in my work and household. Now when I go to the Regent library, I actually have to just work and can't get caught up in returning e-mails or checking friend's blogs. But it is also partly responsible for my own irregularity. Hopefully at Christmas time it will get fixed when we're home in the States.

Cora's Grammie, Dave's mom, is here visiting. She is here for two weeks altogether, and my life has so much more space, it's lovely! It's so fun to go to the library for the afternoon and come home to a hot chicken potpie and a happy Cora with her beautiful art projects and a clean house. We have friends here whose mother lives with them and cares for their toddler while they both study. We're thinking this is a really good situation. Whatever happened to multi-generational households, anyway? Compared to the hectic way our lives usually run, this feels so peaceful. Perhaps we just try to cram too much into life. I've been thinking a lot lately about our pace and what I might do to alleviate it a bit. The only thing that comes to mind is to quit studies and be a stay-at-home mom, especially with Baby Girl on the way. But then when I think about it and consider it, it just doesn't feel right. Studying alongside David does feel right. God is moving and changing us in great ways, and it just has to be a mutual thing right now. I can't imagine it any other way. I'm beginning to recognize that the guilt I put on myself for allowing the house to get dirty or serving thrown together meals or not giving Cora as much time as I'd like is really falling prey to other's expectations for the "good woman", not a Godly guilt over being misaligned with God's will.

Right now, our university lives are hitting the particularly busy time of the semester, which is why it's been AMAZING to have the extra hands. My big research paper for Christian Thought and Culture is due next week, so I've been trying to synthesize the very difficult subject of the early church Christological controversy over Monophysitism, or the idea that Christ has only one nature. The Council of Chalcedon determined the orthodox Christian view that Christ has two natures, human and divine, within his one divine person. By emphasizing Christ's divine nature over his human, this 5th and 6th century movement ended up with a false and unbalanced conception of Christ. For them, the predominance on the complete and perfect union of both natures into one within Christ in the incarnation was the basis for the deification of humanity. I'm loving it, because studying these Christological heresies of the early centuries is not just studying dead relics; an awareness and knowledge of them is crucial in order to be discerning of where they crop up today, which they do. You can see how an unbalanced emphasis on Christ's deity could lead to some theological errors: a dualistic view of the material and spiritual where the value of the world (beauty, practical everyday life, the physical welfare of humanity) is viewed negatively, whereas mysticism and ascetic monaticism is elevated; a misunderstanding of Christ's present humanity and his intercession for us in heaven; an obscuring of the extent of Christ's sufferings and how he can identify with us.

Anyway, I get a little excited about this stuff, but my original point was just to tell you a bit about what Dave and I are working on. My "Women's Faith and Development" class is moving along at a fast clip; it's like a bookclub, only one that meets every single week. So I have to read a book and write an interactive paper on it each week, and then we spend the classtime, 10 amazing women and a fantastic teacher, in lively discussion. Dave has one particularly intense class, Hermeneutics, which also is a paper-a-week class on the various ways of interpreting the Bible. His other ones are a bit more moderate: Everyday Spirituality bringing together the way we can find God in the ordinary of life; and Christian Education and Equipping, a course by one of our favorite professors, the well-known pastor and speaker Darryl Johnson. For that course he has to write his own Bible study course--he's working on one on John 14. He also just completed a huge group project critiquing and analyzing a study course. His group chose Christianity Explored. Dave was elected to the leadership role of the group, which also meant he carried the bulk of the weight. So that's our Regent life.

Dave is also doing his Supervised Ministry for his MDiv degree at our church, Dunbar Heights Baptist. He is predominantly involved with worship. He has put together what looks to be an amazing worship night next Sunday night, getting all kinds of people involved from the church to lead short creative segments which will help the congregation understand the way we can worship through our work, hobbies, and all of life. He has put a lot of energy into this, and it looks like it's going to be really exciting. He's also hugely involved in all of the Advent preparations, conducting a choir (in which I'm singing) and other special music, writing Advent liturgy, etc. Now he's also started up an after-service prayer ministry. He's really enjoying being a part of the church leadership team, feeling like this is really where God has given him passion and gifts.

Well, that's just a taste, perhaps more of a taste than you wanted, of what this semester is looking like for us right now.

Goodbye, October

2008-11-01T16:18:00.000-07:00

October is my favoritest month of the year and I am loathe to see it go. Not only does November sound more dreary and usually look more dreary, but it also means the second half of the semester which is always much more stressful and exhausting and deflating than the first half: deadlines threaten and the subject material has lost its freshness. October is exciting and gorgeous and energizing. November is just a month to get through on the way to December, where things pick up again. This October was particularly full of wonder for me. The Vancouver weather was like never before (yes, we've only been here two years, but old Vancouverites were equally astounded by the beauty.) We had little rain and brilliant colors. Two days ago however the rain set in, splashing all the leaves to the soggy ground, and it promises to be a very rainy November to make up for the lull. The month included many lingering walks in the massive forest that flanks our street, trips to the market, sails, a spontaneous visit from my dear Teresa, and a long weekend on secluded Mayne Island with my parents in a tiny cottage on the water, surrounded by wildlife as well as tons of ripe blackberry bushes and apple trees, whose pickings found their way into lots of cobblers and morning oatmeal.

Last night, Halloween made an excellent farewell to the lively month. We went to the festival at our church. Cora dressed as a ballerina and looked beautiful. She had a blast running around with her friends, eating popcorn and the little bit of candy we allowed her, winning a cake on the cakewalk, and playing the games.

Winning the cakewalk

Working diligently to open up a box of candy.

Finally here...

2008-10-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

Today was our anxiously-awaited ultrasound day. Long enough we've had people asking if we know what it is, what we think it is, if we want to know what it is, if we want to know what they think it is (actually they don't ask, they just tell us) and what we want it to be. Today we finally KNOW and those questions are put to rest! Hooray! Of course, now begin the questions of have we chosen a name. No, we haven't. We didn't finally decide on Cora's until delivery day. Believe me, we are no more decisive than we were two years ago.

So, you want to know what it is???

It's a....

girl!!!

We are so excited. I kept going back and forth about which I would prefer. Either one would have been wonderful and perfect. But Dave had no qualms about expressing he was hoping (or more realistically trying NOT to get his hopes up just in case) that it was a girl. Of course he wants a boy too. With the next one. We just both agree it will be so fun to have sisters close in age. So, as my sister-in-law Rebekah said, "Yeah! A house of princesses that camp and hike and mountain climb and read really big intellectual books." Sounds fun!

Today was not just ultrasound day, mind you. Today was: arrive half an hour early for Mommy and Me at church as usual so I can prepare coffee and treats for a dozen and a half ladies and snacks for 2 dozen children. Leave early from Mommy and Me (before Cora's favorite part--the singing) to rush to for Cora's appointment with the speech therapist. Spend an hour and a half "playing" with the therapist who confirms what we pretty much knew--Cora is doing fantastic and right on schedule with her speech development. Just a precautionary though due to the TS. Then rush home my exhausted, totally played out, whiny and hungry toddler for a quick bite of lunch (which wonderful Dave had on the table: leftover butternut squash soup and bread toasted and melted with mozzarella). Get Cora down for her nap just as Esther arrives to babysit. Dave and I rush to the ultrasound at the hospital. We quickly get in and out. I drop Dave off to do some errands "in town" at the bank, library, etc. from which he will take the bus back the quick ride to Regent for an afternoon of studying. I continue on home to relieve Esther, consider making phone calls to let people know the news, but instead promptly fall on the bed and sleep for the last half hour of Cora's nap. Cora wakes me up and I jump up to bake cookies and get ready for our dinner guests. Sage and her toddler Lucas arrive at 4:30 for some play time. The husbands walk over from Regent at 5:30 and the four of us sit around the table enjoying a relaxing meal for a couple hours discussing elections, classes, the myth of a "balanced life", and the details of preparing for life with two children, while Cora and Lucas destroy the house. Our friends leave, we do a massive overhaul of cleaning up the wrecked house that was just cleaned last night to perfect order for our small group Bible study and will just have to be cleaned again tomorrow before my parents arrive. The never-ending cycle. We get Cora to bed after lots of stories, water, singing, prayers, more books in bed, talking, crying, putting her pajamas back on, more crying, more prayers. Then Dave goes to have a short visit with a friend in need and I am left to FINALLY getting around to sharing my great news! This is my life. Only usually it involves studying/classes in there somewhere. Which, for today, is right now. Good night. I'm off to Jonathan Hill's A History of Christian Thought.

Tomorrow I'll start running again, first with a midwife appointment at 9:30, then picking up my parents at the train station after their journey from Seattle, then a quick lunch and off to class....

Outdoor days

2008-09-07T21:47:00.000-07:00

Camping was a success. We went east over the mountains to the Okanagan where it's drier and supposedly warmer, though it was plenty chilly enough considering it was only the first week of September. We were still visited with a short rain shower each day, too. But it was better than Vancouver (although this week to honor the start of the fall semester it's back to summer weather again). This car camping was a first for Dave and I: we always backpack in miles and live on the bare necessities. But this...this was luxury. And absolutely necessary. A toddler makes all things complicated and camping only more so. Having a car full of food and cooking supplies and dry clothes and books and even a laptop (only for Cora's videos on the carride!) made life leisurely, not to mention the blow-up mattress and port-a-crib in the tent. Cora, needless to say, outdoorsy girl that she is, thought camping was the best thing ever. She was the happiest girl the whole time. But you should have seen her scream and cry as David pulled the tent down on the fourth day. Every time we tried to put something in the car, she would scream and grab it and try to prevent us, particularly her pink papasan chair, which was her throne for consuming marshmallows and reading books.

Time slows down while camping. We sat on the lakeshore enjoying the quiet, played in the sand, took long naps, cooked simple meals, went to bed early after a couple hours of simply staring into the fire drinking decaf coffee and munching on smores or cereal. We took books that we barely cracked, and journals that remained neglected. We just spent time with each other. Which is rare. And lovely.

A tiny break

2008-08-26T21:12:00.001-07:00

I'm sneaking away from my paper for a few minutes so I can write on a different subject for a few moments. Something perhaps a little more lighthearted than the theology of poverty. This week, like last, is push-through week. Dave and I have turned in what seems like a multitude of papers already this summer, but we're still trudging along. We're determined however to finish by Saturday so that Monday we can take off for a few much needed days camping...before the fall semester starts on September 8th. We take turns each day giving each other a few hours to work uninterrupted while the other takes care of Cora. Today for example, I had her in the morning, so I went with friends Dana and little Clay to the beach to build sandcastles and climb all over driftwood, and David took her in the afternoon sailing with friends Jonathon and Charlotte, which since the rainy season seems to have settled in, was a very wet trip for them. The result of our little arrangement is that I've written about 5,000 words in the past week and a half but still have another 3,000 to go before Saturday, as well as about 600 pages still to read. Dave, definitely a more consistent and productive worker than myself, has done much more and is a little closer to being finished. It's been a heck of a summer, as full to the brim as we could get it. We're tired, which is not a very good place to be before you start another semester. But we're also broadened, stretched, challenged, changed. And that is a very good place to be.

So, the summer has been full with far more than classes and theological musings, of course. This month saw David turning 28 and Cora turning 2. We had a joint-birthday party for them, though David did get a bit short-changed, as it was mostly for Cora. We had a picnic out on the beach, and Cora was SO cute. It was such a joy to see her excitement. Each time a new friend came (she had six come), she would run over to hug them and take their hand and lead them over to play in the sand. There were about 30 people in all, and I served huge bowls of mediteranean pasta salad, colorful cupcakes, hummus and veggies, and watermelon.

On Monday after the party, Dave and I took advantage of his parents being here for a visit to go off for a little getaway retreat. We went with our close friends Esther and Kevin to a little cottage on Bowen Island for two nights. It was an absolutely beautiful setting and very peaceful and relaxing. We just read our Bibles, C.S. Lewis for David and Nouwen for me (nothing for school!), took long walks in the woods around the lake, played Settlers, had dinner outside by the harbor, and had morning coffee out on the deck with the magnificent view of the ocean and mountains surrounding us. Also while his parents were here, we all rode bikes the 10 miles around the Vancouver seawall (Jim and Shelli on a tandem!), did some maternity and birthday shopping, and went swimming.

Well, I should get back to my work. The rain is pouring down, the classical music is drifting in, and my book is fantastic: Poverty in the Theology of John Calvin (really, it is!) I've got about 50 pages to go tonight to keep on schedule. Plus, David's bringing me my nightly bowl of cereal and making tea, so I need my hands free. Good night! We'll let you know if we finish and get to go camping!

Unexpectedly Expecting

2008-08-04T21:28:00.000-07:00

As most out there know (but not all--sorry, Sallie! I've been wanting to call you!!!), Dave and I got a big surprise this Father's Day when we found out I'm pregnant. We had big plans to begin trying around November so we could hopefully have a summer baby during the university break. Now we get one at the beginning of the winter semester--a much more stressful time! But that's okay...we have two very loving and doting mothers who I believe won't have a problem coming out to give us a hand. It just means no classes for me (probably) during that semester. The baby is due around February 15th. Considering we have several friends who have been hoping and trying and praying for a baby for long periods of time, we count ourselves incredibly blessed, overly blessed, for the ease of this "accident".

Today we all three went to the midwife and got to hear the heartbeat for the first time. It was such a joy to finally know there's definitely, for sure, without a doubt, a little baby in there. Up until this point, which is pretty late--the 12 week mark, we hadn't had too much indication except the one little plus sign (and the obvious lack of a monthly visitor.) I have felt pretty normal, besides a few twinges of nausea, a craving for sausage gravy and biscuits which I still haven't given in to, and, oh yeah, that unusual seasickness in the sailboat yesterday (the waves were ridiculously choppy though and even Cora seemed to be looking green. She kept cuddling close and putting her face down into my arm.) My first visit to the midwife at 8 weeks was particularly uneventful. Just a relaxed little get-to-know you chat. No peeing in a cup or even touching my belly. They said it's better to just get to know each other first before they go poking and prodding. Just like the laid-back west coast. So I left still not having any confirmation that I was indeed pregnant. It may sound weird that I wanted this assurance, but if you had felt as surprised and shocked as I did by that little plus sign you would want an additional verification as well. So today I finally got it. Dave too was anxious to actually hear the proof and that sweet little heartbeat sound was music. I had hoped to record it and put it on the blog, but not surprisingly, I forgot the mini voice recorder. Maybe that's another of my pregnancy symptoms I didn't mention: forgetfulness. No, that's been here ever since Cora came along. And I think the toddler stage is just making it worse because it takes so much energy just to get us dressed and out of the house without remembering the fun optional extras. Anyway, it was beautiful and I wish I could share it. Though, okay, I guess it might have been a little dull to listen to a recorded thumping noise. We'll leave you alone until the ultrasound. Here we get one ultrasound at which, as long as it's after 20 weeks, they'll tell you what the sex is (some policy apparently in order to limit abortions due to gender--how horrible!) So I told them to schedule me for right at 20 weeks because we're dying to know if Cora will have a little brother or sister! And to know if some poor little boy is going to have to share a pink room with Cora for his first year and a half.

Cora's Big Imagination

2008-07-28T21:43:00.000-07:00

While the week before last was one of playdates and swimming and parties and all sorts of toddler craziness, this past week would definitely be better categorized as "just getting through." David had class in the morning, we met up for a quick lunch, and then I was off to class from 1:15-4:15. Not only is it intense being in class for 3 hours every single afternoon, but the subject matter was extremely intense and challenging as well: The Gospel and Human Poverty. I felt pretty beat up by the end. Not only that, but I had a few deadlines for papers which needed some finishing touches. Thus, for Cora, it was a week of "Let's color" (while mommy reads). "Let's watch Baby Einstein" (while mommy writes.) And the mother of all tricks that keeps Cora occupied for ages on end: "Let's play with Baby."

David's Aunt Chris gave Cora in May a little girl's dream of a gift: an American Girl Bitty Baby and TONS of accessories. A diaper bag with cloth diapers and wipes. An old-fashioned traveling case with clothes and blanket. A lunch bag with sippy cup and snacks. A pair of glasses. A bottle and rattle. A tiny bear and book. So she doesn't lose the assortment of adorable little things, I keep them put away until playtime. The Baby remains in her possession and must be in bed with her every night, but all the extras I save for just such a week as this. I pull it out and Cora can be occupied all morning. Certainly there is still a lot of interaction: she has to come show me what she's done, and needs me to help her take the clothes on and off. But she's amazingly quiet for long periods of time. It's lovely!

Cora's imaginary play is certainly not lacking in any way. I will walk past her room and see her rocking and singing to her baby. She shows Baby books and feeds her pretend food. Or, as was the case today, real food. At lunch, Baby was sitting on the table and Cora would put the spoon to Baby's mouth, then finish the bite herself, then ask Baby "More?", then proceed to nod her head dramatically (for the baby) and give her another bite, over and over until the food was gone. I absolutely look on in amazement at her creative games and interactions!

Playtime

2008-07-20T17:56:00.000-07:00

This past week was a wonderful mixture of play and friends and outdoor sunshine, with only a little work thrown in for good measure. After the previous two weeks in which David and I both spent each morning at Regent and the afternoons/evenings struggling to keep up with homework, Cora did a lot of fending for herself. She spent the mornings at her friend Charlotte's house whose dad watched them both. In the afternoons we would try to get outside, but usually I was occupied at the park with my reading while she played by herself.

So this week I soothed my guilty mommy conscience with lots of time playing.

On Monday, we went to Serenity's house to play:

On Tuesday we went to the pool with Clay and his mom and dad, Dana and Justin:

On Wednesday, Dana and Clay and Cora and I walked to the beach and hunted for tiny crabs:

On Thurday, Charlotte and her parents came over and we ordered in Chinese food and then Charlotte spent the night:

On Friday, we went to the park and played Ultimate Frisbee with our friends. Usually I don't play but sit on the sidelines with Cora, but they were in need of another player so Cora simply ran around the field while we both played. Then we headed back home and quickly dressed for the Barefoot Ball, where everyone dressed up to the hilt...and went barefoot.

Cora hanging out at the food table...

Sorry!

2008-06-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

Once again I have let time fly quickly by without stopping to give thoughts and news to dear friends the world over. I love to give part of ourselves to you by taking time to bring you into our circle of events and people, but sometimes life slips elusively through my fingers and I see in disbelief that almost two months have gone by. These particular two months have been especially full and wonderful: traveling, a long and meaningful vacation, classes and studies, moving and the long process of decorating and settling in a new home, a visit from a too-little-seen sister. I am in recovery mode! Which involves curling up with coffee and laptop on new cozy beige couch (a Craiglist steal for $60) to reaquaint my long-lost self to you.

David and I headed to Atlanta for almost three weeks in May. David took part in his cousin Laura's wedding, performing the ceremony and officiating the marriage. It was such a beautiful weddding, and such a treasure to be part of it. We had a blast partying with all the family, tearing up the dance floor with his grandma, and Cora running around with her sweet cousin.

The next weekend it was time for another wedding, beautiful Kelley's at the Florida beach. This time we left Cora at home with David's parents and had a long romantic weekend to ourselves. It was perfect in every way. A stunning vacation house on the beach shared with some second parents to us. A beach bonfire, dance parties, an absolutely stunning wedding, and relaxing days walking or reading out on the beach. Even the drive down was wonderful, just the two of us reading aloud or listening to music, not having to worry about keeping a toddler entertained. It was a great break, something we decided should probably happen a little more frequently. The rest of the time in Atlanta was all such a joy, just spending as much time with our families as possible.

Arriving back in Vancouver, we jumped into crazy life again. We began packing for a move, because we applied for and were offered a fantastic two-bedroom apartment on campus in the university family housing. David right away started a systematic theology class which ran every morning for two weeks. Meanwhile, I watched the daughter of a friend taking the same class, a little girl Cora's age, Charlotte. So playing with the little girls in the morning, packing, moving and unpacking in the afternoons and evenings for the first week. The second week though my own class started: Globalization, World Religions, and Missions. Then I had the girls in the morning, class in the afternoon, and continued settling in in the evenings.

A couple days after class ended my mom arrived from Atlanta and my sister and her toddler Claire from Oklahoma for over a week of fabulous girltime! We trotted all over Vancouver, trying new places to eat and taking long walks along the beach or in the woods. David stayed at some friends' apartment down the street who were on vacation, so we even had the apartment all to ourselves for chick flicks and late night chats. Cora and Claire had a blast together. Of course, there was some toddler frustration too, but they loved playing with each other and egging on each other with various antics during dinner. I think Cora was very sad to wake up this morning to not find them here, although her Nana is still here until tomorrow and she has had a blast with her today while David and I worked on the papers for the classes we just finished.

So there is some catch-up time. Short but sweet. Glad to finally be in touch again!

Life in a Community House

2008-05-03T14:31:00.001-07:00

I was just going through some old videos and was laughing over these. This is just a tiny glimpse into our crazy and rowdy household of six...

Head butting Jay:

Lot's of happiness going around:

Gymanstics lessons:

The backflip off the couch was on purpose: she is a little gymnast and loves to crawl behind the couch onto the window ledge and then flip over backward, though she doesn't usually go all the way over onto the floor like that. The screaming noise is Jay in the kitchen, not Cora. But at the end you can hear her say "Oh no."

Blessed friends

2008-05-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we were off on another adventure with our housemate Alesha and her boyfriend Kurt to her parent's home in Summerland, BC. It's about 5 hours east, nestled on a massive lake in the mountains and the heart of Canada's wine country. Their home is perfectly situated out on a point out in the lake, with gorgeous views no matter which way you look. The house is beautiful and huge; actually it's 3 buildings. David and Cora and I had our own private suite complete with kitchen, living room, and balcony overlooking the lake and mountains. It was the kind of place people would pay a lot of money to stay in. And we were simply their guests and the object of their incredibly gracious hospitality.

We visited a couple wineries, and then had a Friday night dinner out by the lake soaking up the warm weather and sunset. That was followed by hottubbing after Cora went to sleep. Saturday morning, as Alesha made us a breakfast of omelets, oatmeal, and fruit, we sat enjoying our coffee and watching cartoons with her 3 brothers and sisters (all in their 20s!) The four of us went outside afterward and prayed and worshipped together, surrounded by beauty and feeling the sun beat down us like God's glory and love. Then we headed to her ranch 20 minutes away where we spent the afternoon riding horses. Cora loved the horses and dogs. She had her first ride with her daddy, and loved it. After some impressive riding lessons for Kurt and I from Alesha, the three of us and her dad did a 3 hour ride out in the mountains. Cora and David came for a little while in the ATV, but then headed back to the house for Cora's nap. He's been having back trouble and so didn't want to do any hardcore riding. We rode to some magnificent views, and then turned into the woods and forged our own trail. Only one tense moment, when A.'s dad on his horse in front of me was picking the way through a snowy bank and his horse slid on ice onto his side and down into a ravine. I had to quickly rein in and do a tight turn in the middle of the trees to get down the bank another way. His experience helped him to bail quickly off his horse, so the two were okay, although he walked the poor horse for quite a while after that.

We came back tired and HUNGRY after all that exercise (yes, it's hard work not just for the horses!) A.'s mom had brought in a load of food to the ranch for a dinner party with a lot of Alesha's family and friends. We ate Baron of Beef which seems to be the Canadian version of a French Dip sandwich, and all kinds of sides. Some more hottubbing that night and we were zombies. Sunday we went out to breakfast at a cute bakery cafe and then hit the scenic journey home.

The amount of laughing and bantering and eating and drinking and praying and singing and nature-loving that went on this weekend brought so much life and joy to us all. Cora too had such fun, especially with A.'s whole family with whom she loved on and played with so well in response to their constant attention, which in turn gave David and I a complete break. We barely had to think about her. Alesha was feeding her and then her sister was walking with her and then her mom was playing a game with her. We just got to sit back and enjoy the laughing without a care in the world.

Crazy weather

2008-04-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

Vancouver weather is ever surprising. We have had our fair share of gorgeous spring days filled with glorious flower scents, wet and windy rain days, and...snow days. This past week, a stressful finals week for us, was an example. On Thursday night, after I'd already taken my history final, edited, printed, and turned in my 23 page (single space) counseling project, taken our friends flying home to England to the airport, made a Costco run with my housemate Melissa to get stuff for a baby shower I threw yesterday, and made and eaten dinner, I took a leisurely walk with my other housemate Alesha and Cora and Cao down to the library to return books and to Starbucks for a post-finals treat (Dave was at church worship practice and wasn't finished yet anyway, so wasn't quite ready to celebrate.) We strolled down and it was so pleasant we sat outside coatless and drinking frappuchinos. The next evening, Friday night, as Dave and I curled up with pizza and a movie, snow began swirling around outside, and by the time we went to bed everything was white. We woke up Saturday morning to a couple inches accumulation, which Cora stomped about in while still in her pajamas, and which was mostly gone in the warm sun of the afternoon. Sunday, we didn't even need coats for church, and we left the french doors leading to our back deck wide open during the baby shower. Yet this morning, as I sat in the living room for some early morning quiet time before the household woke up, snow started flurrying about outside again, although no accumulation this time. It is wild and unpredictable. I love it.

So, Dave and I are finished...well, almost. David is in the final editing process of his 16-page Biblical exegesis paper on Jesus' baptism account in Luke. He has already finished a final on Thursday afternoon (after I'd taken my final in the morning) in Christian Thought and Culture involving topics on creation care, science and Christianity, globalization, those sorts of things. Friday he finished a paper on worship for his preaching and worship course. And then the weekend has been consumed by this massive exegesis project. Who new so much could be drawn from a couple verses in Luke? In my history exam, I wrote essays on the questions "How did German Pietism influence 17th and early 18th century Evangelicalism?", "How did the Enlightenment influence 18th and 19th century Christian thought and culture?", "What was the relationship between liberalism and fundamentalism?", and "How did the Protestant and Catholic churches in Germany support the Nazi regime?" These were smatterings of the course topics, a course which surveyed church history since the Reformation and was life-changing in its emphasis and understanding of history and the evolution of ideas to the postmodern culture we belong to today.

Here is a video of Cora wrinkling her nose and saying "nyo" for snow. Under that is photos of her before church yesterday in her new green dress looking so cute.

Student life

2008-03-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

Here's what my week has looked like, sitting at my desk delving deep into my research paper on the integration of Evangelical theology and classical liberal economics between 1800-1830.

Fascinating stuff. Good thing Grammie and Poppie Jenkins were here to occupy the little one, giving me plenty of time to hit the books. Notice the large cup of coffee in the picture. It never ran dry.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-17T21:42:00.001-07:00

From Whistler...

New Glasses

2008-03-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

Cora is now in possession of the trendiest fashion: completely bendable, red-rimmed glasses. Wednesday's (three hour!) opthamologist appointment which was primarily to check for effects of Tuberous Sclerosis fortunately found no results of the disorder, but did find a partial cataract and astigmatism in her left eye. Right eye is perfect, but since it's dominating, the left is deviating. So, poor Cora also has to wear a patch for 3 hours a day to force her to use her left eye, exercising it and hopefully correctly aligning it. This afternoon we picked up the glasses at the optometrist, and she wore them throughout a play date with her friend Lucas and the evening at home. A little before bed time she pulled them off, and when I tried to put them back on, she grabbed them and threw them on the floor. So, a little at a time. But she did great for her first day. Tomorrow we'll try some patch time, which may be more difficult.

The musical maestro. Doesn't she look studious?

Forgot some important details.

2008-03-09T14:08:00.001-07:00

I was admonished once again by David for leaving out THE most important thing of the semester in my last post: he is now "Captain Dave." The past month, he has gone to several classes and spent three days out sailing on the water in order to attain licensed sea-captain status. He is also joining the sailing club so this summer there'll be a lot of sailing going on.

Photo: yesterday's outing for fish and chips at the harbor and a walk on the beach.

Also, last weekend I had an awesome girls' weekend away. I went with three other girlfriends to the Beth Moore Conference: her very first international conference was here in Vancouver. We all spent the night together and had an amazing time. She's coming to Atlanta at the end of June. Don't miss it! There's a video recap of the conference at: http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/2008/03/vancouver-recap-video.html

Oh, and we're alive too.

2008-03-06T22:55:00.000-08:00

David just complained that "it's finally happened." "What?" "We're those people who only have pictures of their baby on their blog." "Oh."

So here's an update on US, since some of you, okay, a lot of you, have been asking us WHAT'S GOING ON? We're busy. Surprise, surprise. This semester, David is taking Preaching and Worship, Biblical Exegesis, and Christian Thought and Culture, all three very demanding courses. I am taking Church History 2, and Christian Counselling Lab. If that in itself wasn't enough to fill our days, add in a precocious and giggly toddler, some babysitting to earn a little income, a dog needing a good run every day, great bike trails calling Dave's name, my Pilates on Wednesday nights, community meals twice a week, church functions, a "Mommy and Me" playgroup for which I volunteer at our church on Wednesday mornings, Regent chapel and soup lunch on Tuesdays, and a few close friendships that we spend a good amount of time with, including those in our community house. The semester is busy, but rich. We are learning, as we have said every semester, a ridiculous amount. We feel bombarded so that we can't begin to process it all. But God is making use of our feeble efforts to transform us. There's no other word. We were just talking today about how we feel like different people.

So, with all that, you can imagine we don't get out for a date alone too much. However, there have been two very memorable dates this semester. One, to the Culinary Art School for a special dinner where we were presented a three-course meal of pure art. And two, a Valentine's babysitting extravaganza planned by our church. The Saturday after Valentine's, we dropped Cora off at church for about 5 hours and rode our bikes around the justly famous Stanley Park seawall, had a Starbucks coffee while sitting outside to watch the sunset, andwent to dinner at some friends'. Below is finally a picture of us without Cora, well, me anyway, to pacify David. Also, some others from the ride. Warning: some material may be inappropriate for children.

Gorgeous Weather

2008-03-06T22:38:00.001-08:00

Whereas last winter, we didn't the see the sun pretty much from January through April, this winter has been unbelievable. The sunny days have far outnumbered the rainy, and the temperatures have stayed quite mild. For months everyone has said pessimistically, "Well, soon it will start and not stop until summer." But it still hasn't happened. The flowers are budding and beginning to bloom. I keep fearing a freeze will kill them off, but meanwhile anyway, we are outdoors every moment we can. There is an offleash dog park about 15 blocks away that we walk to a lot. Boardwalks line the marshy waters of the river, where Cora climbs and Cacao swims.

What Cora's Been Up To...

2008-02-11T22:31:00.001-08:00

Walks with Dad

Kissing boys at birthday parties

Obsessing over the dog

Big smiles

Playing in the snow

Pointing out boats

Dancing

Sleeping

Christmas Story

2007-12-09T21:39:00.000-08:00

This season, I hope you're taking time to delight in the story of God's love for you, that breathtaking story of extravagant love. Each day of Advent brings us that much closer to celebrating His birth, but does each day also bring you one step closer to Him? Don't let the busyness pull you away from a deeper relationship. Instead, take time to revel in the intensity of His love, the greatness of His plan, and the power of His sacrifice. Our perfect High Priest came and reconciled us to God our Father once and for all. That is so much more exciting than Christmas trees and cookies, as exciting as those are. So let that consume you. Not the hustle and bustle.

Cora update

2007-12-08T12:44:00.000-08:00

Cora received a few early Christmas presents from her Grammie last week. She has since been zooming around the house either pushing her baby in a stroller, or collecting everything she can find into her shopping cart. She is a delight to watch.

Everyone is asking for an update on her Tuberous Sclerosis. Not much new news, which is GOOD news! She is not on anticonvulsant medication yet, against all the doctor's recommendations, and yet it has worked out to be so fortunate because we now know that her lack of any more seizures is a result of God answering prayer and not medication! The doctor on Monday was quite surpised that she hadn't had any more, saying that once they start, they usually really start since the tumors have grown enough to start really aggravating the brain. There is concern still about sub-clinical seizures which we cannot see or know she's having unless we observe a slowing or regressing in development. An infant development specialist will help to discern this (we are on a waiting list), but from our perspective, she seems to be developing quite well. She is learning new things everyday, and often surprises us when she responds in understanding to things we say. We're especially encouraged that she shows no signs of autism after seeing the frightening statistics of about 50% developing it in some form or other. She is as sweet and cuddly and social as could possibly be.

Our biggest prayer request right now is that we can get through holiday travels seizure-free. Then we do not have to further consider meds or have the stress of hospital visits while we are at home in the U.S. Please also continue praying with us that she will remain on the mild side of any and all symptoms resulting from the TS. Thank you!

December the 1st

2007-12-01T22:28:00.000-08:00

Today was the start of Christmas for us. Oh, we've had a little tree lit up with lights and some holly and red candles scattered about for a couple weeks already. Christmas music, too, has been occasionally on the stereo. But today, it truly felt like Christmas.

Maybe it was the snow. Yep, almost a foot of it. All day large white flakes fell hard, starting early this morning as the three of us lay warm and cozy in bed together watching it through the window. Throughout our unhurried breakfast and couple cups of coffee, reading Cora some books and each other some Scripture, we watched Vancouver transform into a winter wonderland. Then we bundled up and went for a walk, Cacao bounding about with a white snout, and Cora tromping through it in her pink boots. The afternoon flew by as both Dave and I wrote diligently on our papers, but sitting next to the frosted window with hot tea and beautiful Christmas music playing made even the hard work absolutely delightful. An afternoon snowball fight between David, Jason, Cacao and I, while Cora looked on in consternation, was a fun break.

Or maybe it feels like Christmas because of our first Christmas party. This evening, we all dressed up, Cora in a red gingerbread man dress with even a little gingerbread man barrette to match, me in a coordinating red skirt. Then we drove through the swirling snow (passing by a couple wrecks on the trip there and back!) to the Regent Christmas party, where we socialized for a couple hours and then had a service of singing and meditations. Cora did even more socializing than us...she was buzzing about as the life of the party. She's very popular. Maybe we could learn some popularity hints: smile a lot, hold people's hands, and cuddle close if they want a hug.

All Cozy Inside

2007-11-18T16:16:00.000-08:00

In the past couple of days, brilliant white tips have appeared on the mountains. Our wet and chilly autumn is slowly creeping into a wet and icy winter. But inside we have been toasty warm with frequent crackling fires, steaming soups and stews, and warm blankets added to the beds. Our lives, too, have been buffetted on the outside by freezing cold winds, hitting our faces and taking our breath away. But inside there is warmth and peace from the fire of the knowledge of God's goodness.

This afternoon since returning from the church potluck, I have been wrapped up in blankets in bed. First for a nap while Cora napped, now for reading and writing while David took her to the park. My mind is consumed as always by our recent events, but less for fear of Cora's future than in simply attempting to synthesize and assimilate all the many loving revelations the Lord has been teaching me. This has been such a painful experience because I of course want to protect Cora; my love wants to shield her from suffering any pain or difficulty in the future, which this disorder she has been diagnosed with will certainly cause. I want only good things, happy things, an easy road for her. But God knows that the easy road is the worthless, meaningless road. He likewise wants good things for His children: for me and David and Cora. The difference is that He in His infinite wisdom knows what is truly good. And this trial is good. It requires us to lean more on Christ; it flames in us a desire to seek the things above rather than the things of earth; it drives us to take refuge in God's shelter and to seek comfort from His Word; it changes each of us into more of who God wants us to be. And so I praise Him for this inner warmth amidst the icy cold blasts, and I look with hope and expectation to the fulfilling of all His purposes.

Halloween

2007-11-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

My weekend at the monastery was a time of quiet, meditation, prayer, and study. It was a beautiful place, up on a hill in the Fraser Valley, surrounded by golden woods and near a high bluff with a spectacular view. I loved awakening before dawn to boisterously ringing church bells. The first morning I stole away to a lookout room to pray before breakfast, watching the sun rise behind black mountains, gradually lightening the river down in the valley below. We were hearily served delicious meals of fruit and vegatables grown by the monks, and beef from their own cattle. Our professor, a benignant and gentle old man, had a manner very conducive to learning about spirituality. And in between the trenchant lectures on integrating spirituality with ministry, we had plenty of time for assimilating and prayerful introspection in the quiet of the woods or our own room. One afternoon, one of the brothers spoke to us about Benedictine spirituality. Afterward, we joined he and the other monks for their sung evening vespers, their deep and reverent voices filling the high vaulted ceilings of the cathedral with worship. Sunday morning, we went to mass, after which the 20 of us (Protestants) celebrated our own little private communion table, praying for each other before each one took the elements. That was a special time, as we had quickly grown to know and care for each other in the course of the two days.

I was happy to return to my family, although they had had a really bad night. A teething Cora had kept her daddy up most of it, and they were both exhausted and ill feeling, while I contrastly was physically relaxed and spiritually invigorated. Poor things.

Since then, the pace of life has been pretty furious, hence the reason I am only just now writing. But I have been diligent to not lose hold of some of the gleanings over the weekend. They are still fresh, and God just as present, even in the hectic busyness as they were in the still places.

Tuesday, we went to the doctor for both Cora and I to have our checkup (same doctor!). Cora got 4(!) vaccinations, a tramatic event which she took like the super tough girl she is. Only a couple minutes of frantic crying after the four consecutive and increasingly painful shots were given. She cuddled close to me and watched the doctor after that like a hawk. She is not quite even 21 pounds. Her little buddy who's a month younger than her is 26 pounds!

Halloween was a new experience. On Wednesday mornings I always go to a playgroup at our church, a leisurely time chatting with other moms while the kids run around. Cora usually falls asleep on the way home, and I gently transfer her to her crib. But this time she woke up from the catnap wired and their was no getting her back to sleep that afternoon. Early in the evening, we joined our pastor's family for a bit of trick-or-treating along their street before heading back to the church for a fall festival. We have quickly become good friends with Barton and Heather. They have a 3 yr old (Cora and I will be going to her birthday party tomorrow) and a 9 mo old, and we share a lot of things in common. For her costume, I had gotten Cora an adorable little monkey suit (what else could she be?) from Baby Gap, and boy, she was a hit! She was so cute following Emily (the 3 yr old) around. At the doorstep, people would hold out their basket of candy for her to choose a piece, but instead of taking one, she would put the piece she was holding (and had been gnawing on) into their basket. What a good sharer! Then we were off to the festival, where there were games and snacks. On our way back home, we discovered a huge crowd of people outside a church near our house, and we were drawn into it by the yummy smells and loud music. They were waiting for a fireworks display (fireworks are a big part of Halloween here), and so we stayed for the show, eating hot soup and a hotdog while we watched. Cora put her head on my shoulder and watched with eyes glazed over. By the time we got our monkey home to bed, she was exhausted, but so happy. She just loves being out and about so much. Hmm. Wonder where she gets that from.

Weekend Plans

2007-10-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Autumn continues in all its breathtaking, brilliant splendor. We have never lived in a place where the colors are so glorious everywhere. Makes me always want to be carrying my camera so I can capture some of it. But then I always forget.

Cora is walking around this frosty morning in new white furry slippers I found at the dollar store yesterday (although like pretty much everything else there, they did not cost a dollar). They are adorable on her, only I didn't think about one thing. They are furry all over--no grippy soles--so her feet keep sliding out from underneath her on our slippery hardwoods. She keeps plopping down, and as she tries to get them underneath her, they slide out again so she's almost doing the splits. Once she gets up she walks very slowly and deliberately, careful to have each foot secure before the next step.

She has started to become a true girl. She loves to put on necklaces, which was for a long time the dog's chain collar. Finally I got her some plastic beads which are much more appropriate. She likes to try to carry my or Melissa's or Alesha's purse if we leave it lying around, although we all have big purses, so she really struggles.

This weekend I am heading off to a monastary a couple hours away for a weekend course: "Ministry and Spirituality." I will be leaving this afternoon and returning on Sunday afternoon. So David has a very full weekend of daddy duty ahead of him. He has frozen chili (from a big chili party we threw last Saturday night) and fish chowder I made last night to at least help out in the food department. I am looking so forward to the time away, immersed in a quiet place of beauty and God. Of course I'll miss the loud, chaotic fun always going on here, but the change of pace will be refreshing.

Surprises

2007-10-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

Last night we had the perfect date night. Seriously. Perfect. Let me describe...

With the absence of an afternoon nap, Cora went down easily by about 7:30. Leaving Jay and Melissa in charge (just one benefit of a community house--free babysitters), we jumped on a bus into the city. There we went to a trendy lounge/restaurant we'd been hearing about and wanting to try. After a short wait in the crowded bar, they sat us at a quiet table over by the large grated fireplace that radiated warmth on such a cold rainy night. Stylish decor, cool music, dim lighting, interesting drinks, and delicious food made us understand why it's so popular. As it was our first night out for quite a while, we were a bit more liberal with our ordering, getting an appetizer and a couple drinks in addition to our main meals. The conversation and laughter were nonstop, and somehow didn't even revolve around Cora like most conversations seem. Our waitress was sweet and witty, and we enjoyed chatting a little here and there about Vancouver and why we moved here and such. At the end of the night, Dave and I were oblivious in deep conversation when a young man walked up to our table, pulling us back into our surroundings. He introduced himself as the night manager, and said Tanya (our waitress) had told him about us being a really great couple. He asked about our evening and we raved about the food and drinks--they really were awesome. After a bit of chit chat he began to hand us our bill and said, "Well, you guys are the type of customers we love to have here, and so we just want to do something special for you. So tonight we've covered the bill." Stunned silence and gaping looks exchanged, followed by awed appreciation and profusive thanks to him and our waitress. I mean, what restaurant does that?!!!! We sort of were expecting him to perhaps offer us a couple "10% off your next meal" coupons or something. At the most a free drink. But the entire bill?!! It was just so God. I said I felt like I was just chosen for a huge prize. It was the most amazing feeling: a completely unexpected gift given with no expectation of anything in return. Sometimes God just blesses our socks off.

The whole thing gave me a sense of grace. That's what it felt like. A completely undeserved, unexpected gift that makes you giddy inside. There is no reason we should have been chosen for such a gift. They knew we are young grad students (at seminary no less) and parents to a toddler, and so we don't get out much. We're not the type that will be able to return often to spend the big bucks. But we were "chosen" despite our unworthiness. On the way home, the song "Freely, freely, you have received. Freely, freely give" was playing repeatedly through my mind.

Another really happy thing happened today. Our garbage got picked up for the first time in over 3 months. Yep. Those guys have been on strike, and we never imagined it could last this long before they came to an agreement. The garbage building up in our garage--just imagine: 5 people plus a baby!--has been absolutely disgusting. Oh happy day to have it finally gone!

Also, I wanted to explain the last two pictures on the previous post. Those are Cora with her "baby," the first thing to which she's become really attached. She was always holding the baby doll at the church nursery, so finally I got a clue and got her one of her own a few weeks ago. She loves it and is always saying "baby" to it. It's really adorable!

A Week in Pictures

2007-10-17T16:12:00.001-07:00

Last night I turned in a 10-page paper to my professor that consumed me over the weekend, and so finally I can once again think about writing about something other than the psychological dysfunctions relating to burnout.

Last week was Reading Week at Regent, a break from classes to catch our breath. It started with the Thanksgiving weekend where we had no less than 4 full-out turkey dinners. No joke. Despite their Thanksgiving not having any interesting roots like America's (I asked about 10 Canadians and they could tell me nothing about its history), these Canadians certainly know how to celebrate. Friday was a potluck dinner with some Regent friends, Saturday was a more formal dinner of 10 at our pastor's house, Sunday our housemates Jay and Melissa threw a small dinner party (Melissa's first turkey--you should have seen her and David trying to frustratingly stuff the turkey at the wrong end), and finally, Monday, Thanksgiving itself, was spent at the aunt's house of another Regent friend with yet another gorgeous meal. It was incredible, but I probably gained 15 pounds. Here are some highlights:

The rest of the week included plenty of family time. The gorgeous autumn weather was perfect for leaf-crunching in the park, taking Cao to swim at the beach, fish and chips at the harbor, and a visit to the pumpkin patch and local produce market. Some more picture highlights:

Walking

2007-09-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

I am proud to announce that Cora is a full-fledged walker. At the retreat over the weekend, with all the students and faculty paying her so much attention and coaxing her to toddle several steps back and forth between them, she gained her confidence (and her balance) and now walks everywhere instead of crawling. She's been doing a few steps here and there since her birthday of course, but always resorted to crawling when truly determined to get somewhere. She is still slow at it (fortunately), but it's so fun to see her, arms thrown out for balance, taking a tumble every now and then (on Sunday evening she took a bad one...after our long drive home, we took her and Cao for a walk down to the park to let them get some exercise. She took one long walk to Daddy and then fell against his shin and busted the inside of her lip. It bled and bled, and I had to hurry the several blocks home with blood pouring out of her mouth onto her and my clothes!)

I wanted to get a video of her walking around outside, but it's a rainy, rainy day today. So we are walking about indoors and thought we'd give you a little tour of our bedrooms while we're at it, since I described it a bit in a previous post.

Night and Day

2007-09-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

Last night, Cora was tired. She didn’t want to eat dinner. At least not what I fixed her. So she fussed. And so I put her to bed. And of course, she woke up hungry. At 1:30. For almost an hour, we suffered her intermittent cries, getting up to comfort her for a moment, only to hear her start up again 5 minutes later just as we were beginning to drift off once more. Finally, Dave made her a bottle which she guzzled and by 3:00 she was fast asleep. At 4:30, we were still staring at the clock. Such frustration. Dave finally moved into the guest room because I was evidently moving too much. When I woke up several hours later, I assumed Dave must be skipping his first class for which he leaves at 8:30 since I hadn’t heard him yet. But getting up, I discovered he was long gone…I had slept right through his moving about our room while getting ready.

My plans for the day were pretty much nil. It’s so dark and rainy outside, and I decided it would be an inside, do-nothing day, as the last three days have been spent out and about running errands, and doing church and Regent things. So, mid-morning I lazily let Cao out to do his thing. When it was time to come back in, he looked at me pitifully. Cora did worse. She screamed. Rain or shine, she always wants to be outside. They were too much for me, ganging up like that. They always take each other's side. So I fixed a second cup of coffee, and the three of us strolled out into the dreary and deserted neighborhood streets. It was silent except for the stroller wheels rolling along on the wet and gritty sidewalk. The air was chilly and tingly, the smell of rain melding with that of a fire somewhere nearby. We all three were very quiet, using our noses and ears and not our too-often exercised mouths. Gradually, my heart that started out tired and dull became enlivened and invigorated. At one point, we passed a tree that was thick with a congregation of loudly chattering birds. Just one tree; they all evidently had gotten the memo of where to be today. Then silence again as we walked out of earshot. When we came back home, my coffee cup drained and my nose cold, those two were still loathe to go inside—Cora cried and kicked all the more instead of being grateful for the outing. They have no concept of rainy days being indoor days. Well, I’m appreciative that they pulled me out, out into what I thought might be uncomfortable, but in truth was moving and vitalizing. Like so much of what God does in our lives. We fear risk and discomfort. Usually, it turns out to be transforming.

Tomorrow we leave for the annual Regent retreat, a weekend of socializing amongst students and faculty. The theme is "Surprised by God: From Fear to Longing". It is at Warm Beach in Washington, which evidently does not have a beach, nor is it warm. Many of the students are camping. We’ll stay in a dry cabin where Cora will sleep much better (what a good excuse so we don't look like wimps not camping in the rain.) Childcare is offered during the sessions, so I look forward to the break. I’m doing several loads of laundry today in preparation. Thankfully, we now have a dryer. For a few weeks last month it was broken, so we were using the line. It’s one thing to have to hang the clothes to dry in August. It’s another thing entirely in September. Just the few weeks without made me extraordinarily grateful for the convenience of a dryer. At first, I was enthusiastic about the line: I had an idealized view of hanging the laundry out, saving energy, the clothes soaking up the wind-born scents of the outdoors. In reality, it is simply annoying. My clothes were stiff and wrinkled, sometimes they wouldn’t get dry before the sun set, then I would find them lying in the dirt where they had fallen off. And hanging up 25 cloth diapers, only to take them down twice when it started to rain, and then when they finally did get dry, were so stiff there was no way I could put them on a bare bottom, was not fun. But for all the hassle, I must say...is there much sweeter than a line of baby girl clothes blowing in the wind? Simply adorable. So, big tangent, but I’m happy to say, the laundry is almost all dried and folded and put away.

Tonight, a neighbor couple that we met while out for a walk one evening a couple weeks ago is stopping by for a glass of wine. They have a blonde dog almost exactly like Cao. So while the dogs run and play in the backyard, we plan to get to know each other a bit more. So much of our community is either Regent or church, so we are excited about extending it to include some neighbors.

Autumn Musings

2007-09-16T21:53:00.000-07:00

The Autumn chill is in the air. Somehow, in what only seems a few days, we have lost an hour of daylight, and they continue to shorten by several minutes each day. On this bleak and windy day, Dave and I, taking a Sabbath break from our studies, curled up in bed as Cora napped to read aloud the Wind in the Willows. We're at the chapter where Mole rediscovers his forgotten home, a story that infuses warmth for one's own home. We talked at length afterwards about old homes and this our new home. We contentedly looked about us at the glow of lamplight on the rich wooden walls and floors of our bedroom, the deep reds and browns of the oriental rug and throw pillows and furniture, our books spilling off of bookshelves and nightstands and tables, the fireplace ready for the coming freeze and the mantle covered with pictures and candles, our two cozy reading chairs on either side of a little tea table. It is by far the most cozy bedroom we've ever had. Perhaps we should christen it Mole End. With Cora's awakening, we took a long walk in the drizzle for some fresh sourdough bread to go with my homemade chicken noodle soup. It just simply had to be a soup day. There was no question.

My sweet mom was here for the past week, a blur of coffee chats, sunsets on the beach while watching Cao swim lap after lap after his ball, walking and bike riding around town, and laughing over Cora's antics. The weather was just gorgeous every day: bright blue skies, crisp air. Each day was a special treat totally devoted to enjoying each other. The house feels empty without her now. (Although we do have 3 missionaries in need of housing for a few days filling up the space). This morning when I awoke to the dreariness, I thought, "How appropriate." Then I pulled on the velvety-soft grey cashmere sweater she had bought for me on a Costco run, and pretended it was a hug.

This past week has seen us throwing ouselves heart and soul into a new semester of books and courses. David, to the disbelief of all of our friends who we struggled side by side with last semester, is revving up the course load to 13 hours from the 11 before (which was still 2 more than most others who take only 9). He is taking Old Testament, Church History, Intermediate Greek, Christian Thought and Culture, and Soul of Ministry. They each involve not only lecture time, but mandatory tutorials, in addition obviously to the multitude of papers and reading work. The most crazy of his days, Tuesdays, after 9 hours at Regent (6.5 of class time, 1 of chapel, 1.5 of lunch and recoup time), we meet up to trade off Cora so that I can attend an evening course: Intro to Counseling. After much prayer and deliberation this summer, we have decided that I will pursue a degree here as well...slowly, but surely. Some of the requirement can be fulfilled by audio courses, even after we leave Regent. For a Masters in Christian Studies, I will have to fulfill 60 hours of coursework; quite a load for only part time. But since I can benefit from a spousal 50% credit, we decided we should take full advantage of our being here so we are ready for whatever God might bring our way. So, I'm taking this counseling course which is going to be demanding, thought-provoking, and even a bit disturbing as it attempts to better understand this broken world full of broken people. Mom came along with me to the first lecture last week, and it gave us a lot of fuel for conversation.

Well, with this long post about our goings on, I will leave you now. David just appeared with tea, so it's time for our nightly cuppa as we quietly wind down in our reading corner, each independently absorbed with a book, yet bonding just the same through a communion of mutual understanding, appreciation, and familiarity. I bet we're still doing this when we're 80.

The Canadian Rockies

2007-08-27T22:51:00.000-07:00

Most people spend an August vacation soaking up the sun on the beach or a cruise. Not us. We spent ours freezing our bums off amidst icy glaciers and frigid lakes. We also didn't do much lying around and relaxing either. Each day involved either a big hike or bike ride, sometimes both. We filled the week full to the brim. Poor Cora was successfully inaugurated to the typical Jenkins method of travel: see and do everything you can possibly manage, and more. She had to find time for little catnaps in her carseat, the backpack, or even the bike seat. But she was amazing. The last couple days at home has been catch up time for us all on sleep.

It would take too long to tell of all the adventures we had, but you can get a glimpse of our week in our photo album (well, more than just a glimpse actually--it's a lot of pictures.)

Birthday Party!

2007-08-13T11:46:00.000-07:00

Has it really been a year already? I look back over the extraordinary 365 days that I have been with Cora, and I thank God for such a precious year. I want to savor it more fully, especially as I imagine it will only begin to go faster and faster. After a crazy day of birthday celebrations yesterday, today I am taking some time to contemplate and consider what she means to me, what I have learned this year, and lessons I must carry forward into future years.

Yesterday was a delight. Cora seemed to sense that this was a joyful day, a day not for sleeping, for she napped only an hour in the morning, and even though she was in her crib for 2 hours in the afternoon, never fell asleep despite Daddy and Mommy's alternate rocking, singing, carressing, and soothing. She was not unhappy; there were few tears. She just sang and played in the curtained darkness.

Finally, although fearing she would be exhausted for her big party, we brought her upstairs as the guests began to arrive. 18 people gather together to make the day special for her. David manned the grill, while I made frosty pink lemonade drinks. Cora tasted her first hotdog...surprisingly, she's much more enthusiastic about green peas than hotdogs. We all gathered around to sing a boisterous "happy birthday" and watch her dig into her bunny-shaped carrot cake. She was cautious and dainty, a bit unsure what to do with the large ear placed before her. I don't know whether it was all the people staring at her, a desire not to get her fingers dirty, or simply that my healthy cake made with honey and whole wheat was not very tasty to her, but she did not dive in as expected. She patted it a little and allowed her daddy to feed her bites, but was not eager to forage into it herself.

Presents time was all so new and fascinating. The curly, colorful ribbons were especially thrilling, and reaching into bags to pull out books or shoes was a great game. She received a jack-in-the-box, a wooden puzzle, magnetic building pieces (which Jay and David found absorbing), books, clothes, 3 pairs of Robeez shoes, and some old-fashioned wooden toys.

Gradually the guests filtered out until it was just family: Grammie, Poppie, surrogate Auntie Melissa and Uncle Jay, Mommy and Daddy. We sat around in the living room playing with the new toys. She circled from person to person, from toy to toy. Then to our surprise and delight, she took her first few steps, going from Daddy to the coffee table on which were her pretty shoes. The next half hour was spent in a flurry of excitement trying to get her to do it again for the video camera. Teasing her with toys, shouting encouragement, she gave some effort but took a lot of tumbles. Things began to quiet down, the others began cleaning up, David began playing the piano, only Poppie and I sat with Cora. I stood her up before me and then with great concentration and deliberation, she took 4 good steps into Poppie's arms. What an amazing culmination to a wonderful day. It's strange to think that before long, she will be running!

As David gave her a bottle that night, she drank only 2 oz. before she was fast asleep. She woke up at 7 this morning, only to have a diaper change by Daddy and crawl into bed with Mommy where both slept again until 9 (poor Daddy had to go to Greek class.) We were exhausted from the festivities!

For a visual presentation of the day, make sure you look at our picture site: http://picasaweb.google.com/mtnbikedavid

Catching up

2007-08-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

The paradox of my blogging attempts is that when I actually have something to write about, I generally have no time to write. The last couple weeks have been a swirl of activity, and so I am merely popping up my head in the midst of it all to catch up a bit.

2 weekends ago was our 5-year anniversary. When we were married in Jamaica, we said we'd try to go back for our 5-year. Perhaps we'll put it off until the 10-year. Instead, we celebrated by taking full advantage of our own spectacular city, which we don't do nearly enough. Plus, the temperatures here are much more to our liking than the steaming islands...we have had clear, brilliantly sunny days but with mild temps. In the morning and evenings, it is actually quite chilly.

We began the celebrating early by getting a friend to babysit Cora on Friday night while we went out kayaking with a few other Regent friends. It was breathtakingly beautiful: a placid cove nestled in the mountains, deep blue water, evergreen lined shores, a shimmering sunset.

On Saturday, July 28th, our actual anniversary, we arose early to a gorgeous day and rode our bikes, pulling Cora along in the bike trailer, to our favorite coffee shop, where we sat outside drinking lattes and eating breakfast.

All good anniversaries should have metaphorical fireworks, I guess, but lucky for us we got the real thing. The Celebration of Light is going on in Vancouver as it does every summer, where countries compete against each other for the most impressive and technologically advanced fireworks display. This summer, Spain, Canada and China compete. So, we packed a picnic and went down to the beach to watch Canada's display over the English Bay. It was choreographed to jazzy music including, appropriately, Nat King Cole's Unforgettable, which we danced to at our wedding. We brought Cora with us, keeping her up way past her bedtime. She had a blast, excited by our late night rendez-vous and enthralled by the fireworks.

On Sunday Shelli arrived to spend the week with us taking care of Cora while I took a short but intensive writing course at Regent taught by Lauren Winner, an author I love. In the midst of the studies, we have been enjoying plenty of eating out, shopping, and walking around, the typical things when parents come to visit!

Tomorrow we plan to celebrate David's birthday by going out to a French restaurant. Then we are preparing for a big birthday bash for Cora on Sunday. When it rains, it pours. I do love the rain.

Communal Living

2007-07-17T21:28:00.001-07:00

I was laughing with a friend last week about how I feel like I've once again been initiated into "proper" adulthood. No longer living with parents or in an apartment the size of a dormroom, we actually now have a house, a car, a dog, a baby, all the conventionalities of a successful married adult. Chuffed at having progressed so far, she brought me back down a bit. "Except that you're sharing the house." Oh yeah...except for that. "And you don't have any income." Ooh, yeah, employment. That's a biggie. Okay, so maybe we haven't quite reached the settled down, successful adult phase after all. Eh, who wants to grow up anyway?

Our friends Jason and Melissa who are sharing our house came back on Saturday after three weeks visiting family in Toronto. Soon we will begin the hunt for a single to also share our abode. We are beginning to settle into the rythms and patterns of community life after having spent a good amount of time arranging details: dividing up the cooking and cleaning load, dealing with grocery and bill logistics, organizing kitchen space, etc.

Recent memoirs I've read on convent and monastic living have given me insight into both the intention and the nitty-gritty of communal living. Indeed, love and grace and service will be demanded in abundance, availing us of new avenues for spiritual development. Yoking ourselves together, we desire to push upwards, attempting to attain the unity that the New Testament elaborates, but which the Church seldom endeavors to live out.

Books, Books, and More Books

2007-07-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

My book stack is becoming ridiculous. You would laugh to see my nightstand. Between the Regent library, the Vancouver public library, and Amazon orders, I am overwhelmed with volumes that are already begun or anxiously anticipating being cracked. Browsing the stack and choosing which to read for a half-hour coffee break during Cora's nap or the reading hour before bed is pure delight. Not much could be better than a stack of great books waiting to be read, except perhaps the satisfaction of completing them one by one...which takes a long time when you keep starting new ones before finishing the old. There is quite a disparity between David's and my reading methods. He is systematic, never having 2 "pleasure" books, meaning non-school although they tend to bring a lot of pleasure as well, going at the same time, while I obviously am a willy-nilly, pick up anything that strikes my fancy reader. So, onto my book list, which I have failed to keep updated on the sidebar because it would take a lot of time to list the books that come and go off my nightstand.

Books I am in the middle of:

The Genesee Diary, Henri Nouwen--Highly recommended.
Dakota, Kathleen Norris
Stalking the Divine, Kristin Ohlson
Gilead, Marilynne Robinson--Highly recommended.
The Philosophy of Tokien: The Worldview Behind The Lord of the Rings, Peter Kreeft--Highly recommended...also doubles as an intro to philosophy textbook.
Men and Women in the Church, Sarah Sumner
Creative, Confident Children: Making the Most of the Preschool Years, Maxine Hancock (a Regent prof)
Happiest Toddler on the Block, Harvey Karp
My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers (daily devotional reading)
The Message of Ephesians, John Stott--Highly recommended.

Then there are the books I'm reading aloud with David:

Pilgrim's Inn, Elizabeth Goudge (This we started during our time at home in May and should have been long finished by now except that we started listening to Atlas Shrugged during the car trip, which obviously took a monumental amount of time to get through.
Life as a Vapor, John Piper (devotional reading on most nights)

Then there is the awaiting pile of books on the bottom shelf of my nightstand, but I am trying to be disciplined (ha!) and keep my nose out of them.

David is plowing through a 600-page Jonathan Edwards biography and loving The Ragamuffin Gospel, although he spends about 8 hours a day on Greek these days, so they are both going quite slowly.

Usually I am not quite this bad at being in the middle of so many books. Really. I just happened to get a bit carried away at the libraries. This infatuation with books perhaps accounts for my frustration and restlessness with mundane household duties that I blogged about a few days ago. It is truly a big lesson for God to get through to me that the holiness and sanctity of physical work actually can exceed that of the intellectual. Nouwen's question keeps echoing in my head when I am frustrated with a too long to do list: "Why do I always want to read about the spiritual life and not really live it?"

A Moment in Time

2007-07-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

This morning as I nursed Cora, she looked up and gently touched my face. "I love you," I whispered three times. Still drinking, still touching my face, still looking into my eyes, the corners of her mouth turned upwards into a tender smile. A moment of understanding. That is happiness.

She is my little Maiden of Grace, revealing the continuous droplets of God's grace to me...and, at times, teaching me to be a woman of Grace myself. :-)

Holy Living

2007-07-08T13:54:00.001-07:00

Recently I came across this article and found it both comforting and inspiring (please don't skip this all my hurried, skim-reading, mommy friends...this one's especially for you):
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/may/30.48.html

I love when she says, "Mothering teaches me that spirituality is not only about folding hands and closing eyes. As my daily life has become more physical and immediate, so has my experience of God." Disciplines of solitude, fasting, and study like those Foster's Celebration of Discipline promotes, a book I adore even if it is quite daunting, are simply unrealistic right now, a fact I appreciate being reminded. But that does not mean my spiritual life is going down the drain until Cora goes off to school (even then, there might be more young 'uns under foot.) Rather, I have never grown so much in my life as these last 11 months, though it has been through more unorthodox means, as Paris so accurately describes.

This idea of the sanctity of everyday living has been reinforced through my reading of Henri Nouwen's The Genesee Diary, an account of his seven months living in a Trappist monastery. Belying my expectations, he discovered that the contemplative life eluded him in this place where he anticipated it would come so naturally. He finds the manual labor irksome and continuously frets that he is not having as much quiet study time as he had planned. Through several diary entries, he writes:

"Why didn't I really enjoy the work, and why did I want to go back to my books to read about the spiritual life? Is selecting stones in the creek bed [for me: cooking, changing diapers] not the best spiritual life possible? Why do I always want to read about the spiritual life and not really live it?....

If I have learned anything this week, it is that there is a contemplative way of working that is more important for me than praying, reading, or singing. Most people think that you go to the monastery to pray. Well, I prayed more this week than before but also discovered that I have not learned yet to make the work of my hands into a prayer....

The spiritual life does not consist of any special thoughts, ideas or feelings but is contained in the most simple ordinary experiences of everyday living."

Yearning for extended study and prayer times such as my single friends are able to enjoy only leads to discontentment in my banal duties of cleaning, cooking, and caring for an energetic and attention-demanding 11-month old. Yet God is using these very things, these holy things, for my sanctification and spiritual development in this season of my life. I can and must daily exchange my restlessness for "greater" things for the quietness of a heart tuned to God's abundance surrounding my life call: "In quietness and trust is your strenth" (Is. 30:15). My daily chores of changing diapers and grocery shopping, when married with prayer and purposed for the glory of God, are equally as spiritual as that of monks...or seminary students.

Home sweet home...

2007-07-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

The past few days, we have been arranging our new home. Here we are, coming up on our 5-year anniversary at the end of this month, and we've just moved into our 6th home together. We're rackin' 'em up. Someday we'll settle down. Maybe.

The rest of the trip went smoothly, as far as the car was concerned. As we'd hoped and prayed, we got the troublesome stuff out of the way first. It ended up being 9 days in Nashville altogether. Thanks to our gracious hosts, Tom and Sallie, who at least pretended like they never got sick of us, the time was actually very enjoyable. It was only the talking to the mechanic part on the phone that would get us all fired up. Other than that, we just relaxed and enjoyed our time together with the two girls. Kate is just 3 months older than Cora, but what a difference that period makes! I can't imagine that Cora might be walking and talking like that so soon.

Finally, over a week late, we made it to St. Louis, where we spent an amazing two days with our friends from Edinburgh, Mike, Shayna, and daughter Bella, who is one month younger than Cora (there was a baby girl explosion amongst all of our friends last summer--Cora has 5 baby girl cousins or friends all within just a few months of her!) We explored the St. Louis zoo and watched "Rick Steve's Edinburgh" so we could relive the sights and memories of our beloved city.

From there, it was a grueling 5 days straight to Vancouver (with a fun one-night stop at my college roommate's house in Denver). Long days with Cora in the car, punctuated by stops at Walmart, Family Christian Bookstore, Barnes and Noble, and Timbuk Toys where we, the desperate, frenzied parents, plunked down any amount of money for more toys, books, videos, whatever, just something new to keep the baby happy and occupied! Things I never thought I'd do, like let her eat on my TCBY strawberry milkshake, suddenly became a self-defense mechanism for a moment of peace (at least she learned a new skill...suddenly she had no problem figuring out how to use a straw.)

In truth, she was actually pretty amazing, all things considered. It's just she couldn't sleep very well in the car. Poor thing, you can imagine why...my neck gets a crick when I'm trying to sleep like that too. Short naps and long periods constrained in practically a straight jacket just somehow don't work for a feisty 10-month old. But we got through it, and Wednesday night, two weeks after we left Atlanta, we arrived in Vancouver, quite a sight for sore eyes.

We have quickly made this house into a home. Between the items from back home we brought in our trailer and some great buys on Craigslist that have sent us all over the city, it is becoming incredibly cozy. I'll post pictures soon, just a little more fixin' up first. We have also gone for a walk every day to explore the neighborhood; within a few blocks is a Starbucks, grocery store, Choices (think Whole Foods, only on the smaller Canadian scale--this country doesn't seem to require everything supersized), and a field where Cacao can run his (very little) energy out.

We have also been catching up with friends. Sushi on Friday night with our cute British friends, a coffee visit this afternoon from a girlfriend, and tea tomorrow morning with another.

Finally, a note on the weather, as any worthwhile conversation includes. We came from a heatwave in the southeast to a coldwave up here. Rainy and chilly (everyone wearing jackets and sweatshirts, of which we are really lacking until we can get some boxes from a friend), our first couple days were spent reliving the June of Edinburgh days. But today, the 1st of July, a new Vancouver appeared and we may finally be in the clear. Literally. We kept hearing summer would be really nice. It just dawned on me however that people do have different standards of what nice means.

Roadtrip...hooray.

2007-06-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

It's so depressing. We're supposed to be halfway between Denver and Montana right now. Instead, we're sitting in Nashville only 4 hours from our starting point. Same place for 6 days and a whole country still to traverse. It's the transmission. Killed over on the first leg of the trip. Such a bad start.

I've been very patient. We keep saying it's God's car, God's money, God's time. We'll just hang out and trust it'll all work out. But then this morning, 6 days after we give it to the transmission guy, he calls to say the part he ordered can't be ordered. Hel-lo. What have you been doing all this time? 6 days later and you only just find out you can't get the part? He gave some excuse like there may be some other way to fix it or something, but it seems a bit fishy to me. The price keeps going up, too. Like 1000%. It started at $300 so you can do the math.

God's car, God's money, God's time. Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat.

Did we skip May this year?

2007-06-01T06:12:00.000-07:00

After being reprimanded by my Edinburgh friend (sorry, Em!) over my lack of updates here, I suddenly realized...May is gone! My goodness. Time doesn't really exist on vacation. And that is what we've been doing. The whole month was quickly consumed as we hungrily ate up all the time with family and friends we could muster. It's been a happy, chaotic mess of living out of a suitcase and traveling back and forth between the houses of friends and family. Our first 2 weeks consisted of a tour of the southeast with stops in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee. Eventful May held the wedding of my niece, the death of my grandfather, the birth of my best friend's baby. High highs and low lows.

Cora's been having a blast. Except for the not so fun sick part, she has been loving the attention of her adoring grandparents. And Dave and I have enjoyed dates again and a nice break from 24-hour baby care.

Here are some pictures from the Wallace clan vacation to Florida: 1 massive house holding 8 adults, 14 kids, and 1 dog. What a week! (lots more pictures too over at our Picasa web page over on the sidebar...)

Back From the Island...

2007-04-23T23:22:00.000-07:00

We are back from 4 heavenly days on Galiano Island. Staying on the farm of a Regent professor, a Schaeffer-esque theologian/philosopher who chooses a long commute over the hectic city, we were refreshed with great food, relaxing atmosphere, and stimulating conversation. Dave and I planned and organized the much-needed retreat for our small group of friends. There's a lot of stress in that, planning meals and logistical details, and hoping it all meets expectations. Well, the weekend went far beyond any expectations.

The location is magnificent. The farm, forests and rocky cliffs meet the sea that sparkles and flashes in the sun. Scattered on the beach are bright purple starfish and crabs. Animals, wild and domestic, are everywhere. Seals and otters scramble about the rocks and play in the waves, sea birds dive at fish and hummingbirds dive at us, the sheep graze peacefully until Gibbie the sheepdog decides to have some fun, an early morning deer boldly tastes the trees near the house, and bald eagles soar majestically over our heads.

The house too is a comforting haven. Books and books and more books line every room. I don't think B&N could have more books than the abundance this house contains. Quiet perusal of the volumes and curling up to skim a few selections was a favorite late afternoon pastime after enjoying a hike or working in the garden. And reading nooks abound for this purpose, offering spectacular views of the beach. I particularly enjoyed the bookshelf specially devoted to the Inklings.

Meals were enjoyed around a large wooden table lit only by candelabras and a rodiron candle chandelier. These times were some of the most convivial: passing bowlfuls of delicious hot food amidst laughter and teasing and rousing discourse. With the many hands to help with preparation and clean-up, I never felt like I had a lot of work to do. Fresh mussels, homemade bread, thick chili, Thai chicken curry, local wine...we banqueted like royalty every meal.

Sunday morning we took an early morning row. Professor Wilkinson has a couple of Spanish longboats, exact replicas of those used 200 years ago. With 8 oarsmen rowing in sync, the knocking of the oars against the wooden boat creating a hypnotic heartbeat, we sped along the beautiful island coastline.

In return for our room we helped with some gardening: spreading mulch over garlic and leek plants, weeding the strawberry patch, mowing the expansive lawn. It felt good after a semester of intellectual work to dive into some manual labor and get our hands dirty.

Our professor considers ecology and conservation of the environment to be intrinsically integrated with theology, and through his words and actions he imparted to us a greater love and care for nature. The priority of preserving nature surpasses saving time or convenience. Only natural foods (mostly homegrown) and products are used, and paper products, saran wrap, and other rubbish-producing items are scorned (toilet paper was the only paper product I could find and even it was 7th Generation recycled paper.) All rubbish that comes on the island must be carried off again ourselves--no local garbage pickup. Composting and recycling is of upmost importance. We are so far removed from the source of our food and the resting place of our rubbish that we no longer take much heed of these things. I appreciated being reminded.

I can't even begin to say how much we were revitalized and transformed over just a few days. Our fellowship was sweet, our energy restored, our love for God strengthened, our tired minds revived. A true retreat.

It's nice to be home now though, even if only for one week. It's a bit sad...changing homes once again. It was just long enough to get a bit attached to the flat and our location. Now we are cleaning it and packing up our things. We will be home in Atlanta for May, and then back to a new home, though we're not sure where that will be yet. That is the prayer for this week--a place to live!!!

Cora's 8 Month Birthday

2007-04-12T14:35:00.000-07:00

Today Cora is 8 months old. What a month it's been too! Each month makes a big difference, but perhaps this past one has been the biggest leap so far. She is impressively mobile, actually crawling on hands and knees much of the time now rather than only the military crawl on elbows and tummy. She pulls herself to standing using the cushions on the back of the sofa, and then will even walk along it if something a few feet away catches her fancy. She monkey climbs over everything, constantly bonking her head on chair legs, her mouth on windowsills, her bottom as she falls. She wails for a moment and then is back at it. She walks so well with us holding onto her hands. She says "Baa" a lot. Her two bottom teeth have poked through. She can pick up cheerios or peas or grape bits and feed herself. Her personality is becoming more prounounced. She understands "no" very clearly and already will pout or protest when we say it (though surprisingly she does usually stop.) Yesterday we visited with her two boyfriends, Jonah on the left (2 months older) and Lucas on the right (1 month younger), neither of whom are moving at all yet, so she was crawling circles around them...not that they don't up her on other things. For one, they'll sit through book readings, while Cora gets mad at me if I don't let her chew on them. Perhaps they'll be more booky and she'll be more athletic. :-)

Also today, David finished his finals. What an accomplishment. I am still completing a last paper to turn in tomorrow; right now I'm sitting at a coffee shop down the street, drinking a latte and working away at it (minus a little break to blog!) while finally-free Dave plays at home with Cora. Tomorrow after I turn in my paper, we're going to meet a couple friends by school for a lunch of sushi (of which Vancouver has an abundance for very cheap) to celebrate. One semester down. About 11 more to go.