Thanksgiving and Stuff

Thanksgiving 2015.

The first Thanksgiving in three years all of us were together - and probably the last for a while.  Beck surprised us (and by "us", I mean Mom and I - the rest of the family was in on it) the evening before Thanksgiving.

Cousins!  Plus Brian, the dog, Malachi, and Ben's girlfriend (who also happens to be named Rachel).

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Toby.  He's such a funny dog, with his lopsided lips.

He's also one of the dumbest dogs.  He runs into things and hits his head all the time.  He barks at the heater every time it goes on.

But he's my little pal and I'm fond of him.

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Nature shots out in the backyard -

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I did some last minute shopping the other day in preparation for moving to a colder climate.  It's so different from packing to move to West Africa...buying mittens and closed-toe shoes and a warm winter coat.  And to think, I was living there only six months ago.

Also, am I the only one slightly annoyed at the fact that all the mittens in the store had to be touch-screen compatible?  Seriously??

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Just because I like him -

Reading his new book, "Hippos Go Beserk".  Even the title makes me laugh. :)

Beck asked me today if it was a violent book.  No, just a book about 45 hippos who threw a party.

No, I didn't get him to pose like that.  He's just a bit of a ham when there's a camera around.

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Last week I took a little trip up to WA to see some friends.

Stopped at my grandma's on the way up - she didn't know I was coming, which was super fun.
Drove through Oregon and up to eastern Washington the next day.
Saw friends and once-upon-a-time classmates from MTC.  I hadn't seen them for four years.
Then over to the other side of Washington to see a friend I'd met in Mexico...who I hadn't seen in six years.
Then back down to my grandma's for one more night before coming home.

Two more states crossed off the list, check.
Surprise successful, check.
Awesome friends seen, check.
Two thousand miles driven in five days, check.

These are pictures I took at my grandma's.  We don't have a tree. :)

I can't believe Christmas is next week.  It's funny, those two years in West Africa, I imagined how much more Christmas-y it would feel if I was back in CA.  Now here I am and it still doesn't seem that much like Christmas.

I've been last minute with some of my gift shopping (which is not like me).

A Christmas post has been churning in my mind for several weeks and I'm not at all sure it'll make it onto the blog before Christmas.

I guess that's okay.  Maybe it's alright for Christmas to feel small, ordinary, and un-dazzling.  After all, Jesus came in the middle of the small and ordinary and maybe those seasons are actually pretty good times to remember Him.  Maybe that's where hope is hiding - in a Baby in a stable, in a God who loves to be a part of the small and ordinary, in a God who's with me in the dull gray December days as well as the light-filled celebrations.

Emmanuel, God with us.  Always.  Here with us.

And there, I guess that was kind of my Christmas post in a nutshell there. :)

...Off to bed I go now.