another year....

Well, if you go back and count blog posts, it's obvious that Lindsay writes much more frequently (and her posts are usually longer than mine! I did want to weigh in and reflect on the past year, though - it's been a tough one getting used to a new culture and part of the country, being far from family and friends. I think we're finally settling in, though, and once we can get into a house this spring, I think that will give us a much greater sense of permanence.

My first year at Asbury has been both challenging and rewarding... it usually takes seeing a full 'cycle" of a year at a church to really begin to feel like you have a good grip on how things flow, and this time has not been an exception to that concept. Usually as I start my second year, I'm really beginning to feel as if I'm making some progress, and that is indeed the case here.

I've been pleased to see some growth in the Choir, the restart of our Bell Choir and I've started an adult Praise Team. I've also taken over leadership of the MOB (Methodists on Brass), and am always on the lookout for new ways to include our musically talented congregation in worship.

I was especially pleased with how things went on our Christmas Music Sunday - the video feed come out very nice on this piece, so I post the YouTube link here:

As this year closes, I'm thankful for Lindsay, a fine place to work and serve, and God's blessings and care for us while we awaited the sale of our house. Although it was difficult, we never missed a meal, always were able to pay our bills and even occasionally had a bit of extra $$ for some leisure. God is good!

Ice "Skating"

So Wisconsin has officially broken me in, but not broken me up. Let me explain. There are roads. There is ice. There are cars. The three are a bad combination. I got firsthand knowledge this morning on my way to an appointment across town. While driving the freeway, I tried to slow down for traffic congestion ahead. What happened in actuality is this: sliiiiiiiiiiiiiide... turn... slam into median... turn... wait for that car to hit me... SMASH! God is so good - neither I nor the other driver was hurt, just badly shaken. My car has some pretty ugly damage, his looks like an accordion.

Camry - good car. The rest of the day follows with much rejoicing for safety, hugs from Jonathan, and many, many phone calls: arrange for tow, arrange for auto body, arrange for rental car (but I really don't want to drive anytime soon), talk to my insurance company, talk to his insurance company, talk to Mom and Dad... I'm going to go take a nap. I'm pooped.

Christmas in Wisconsin

I don't know who originally wrote this. Mom sent it to me today and said it was originally for Iowa. Same difference. I love it!

When it's Christmas time in Wisconsin
And the gentle breezes blow,
About seventy miles an hour
And it's fifty-two below.

You can tell you're in Wisconsin
'Cause the snow's up to your butt,
And you take a breath of Christmas air
And your nose hole both freeze shut.

The weather here is wonderful,
So I guess I'll hang around,
I could NEVER leave Wisconsin -
My feet are frozen to the ground!

What the Heck?!

Negative five. NEGATIVE. Wind: 30-40 mph.

Negative 5 + 30mph wind = WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING HERE???!!!

Chicago

So I went shopping in Chicago on Monday for the first time since we've been out here. I went with our senior pastor's wife, Wendy. We had a wonderful time - I managed not to get too flustered by Chicago traffic (which I think is way worse than California - much more aggressive), and we even found a parking space in the first garage we drove into. Our first stop was Macy's to see the windows. They had weird little furry creatures and winged things - a little freaky. The store was enormous - nine floors, I think - and every floor was decorated to the hilt. Beautiful! On one of the escalators, you can see all the floors at once, with all the decor, chandeliers and huge ornaments all over - I felt like I was in a movie! I didn't buy a thing, but I had a blast!

We hit several other stores, but never quite made it to Michigan Avenue (sorry, Danielle). It was so cold, your face felt like it had icicles when you went indoors. The thought of wandering very far in that kind of cold, and not exactly sure which lot we parked in, had absolutely no appeal. Once we did figure out where we parked, we decided to check out this little outdoor area near the garage that had all sorts of German vendors and a gigantic 40 foot Christmas tree. Very European. One stall had hot cocoa - very appealing. We ordered some, and the girl asked if we wanted whipped cream. Well, duh! She grabbed the can and pressed, but nothing happened - it was frozen inside the can! She actually had to go to the "warmer" to get another can - the REFRIGERATOR. Ugh.

Cold Enough for Ya?

So I hear even Malibu got some snow with this storm that's been working its way across the country. Now THAT'S something!

As per our "not normal" winter, we've now had three major storms, winter officially starts two days from now, and we're ahead on our total snowfall from our record-breaking snowfall of last year...

The nice thing is a snow day. We've had a couple of days canceled from work. I still get paid for those! We had one the day after I got back from California - I wasn't sad to sleep in! We had a partial day today, but I have a cold anyway, so no pay. Ick.

I spoke with a friend the other day from California and she was asking about the weather. I commented on how it hadn't been too bad up until that point, with it being around 45. There was a brief pause on the line. Then I heard, "DEGREES?!!" I said, "Yes, degrees." There was another pause. "IN THE DAYTIME?!!" Ah, to be a Californian again...