Saturday, January 28, 2012
For the grandparents. :)
Today at 4:45 pm, Colin will be a month old. How time flies!! And so I thought I should give a picture chronicle of his growth, mostly for the grandparents and those not on facebook. :) We love this boy more and more every day from the small toes up to the cheeks of chub. So, heeeeeeeeeeerrreee's Colin!! (Applause)
Friday, January 6, 2012
From New Year's Eve to Epiphany: And we've had a lot of those!
Mark, my parents and I had had other plans for New Year's Eve celebrations, the key part of which was spending it together with a new baby. But God had other ideas and so my folks enjoyed our treats at our flat while Mark and I stared very groggily at our new son in the recovery room. (By the way, my very first surgery experience was also not something I was expecting on New Years!!)
But what an appropriate way to begin a new year in every way. A new chapter in our lives started very neatly in a fresh, untouched year. I say neatly, but it was in every way not according to our plan. However, as my pastor is very fond of saying "God draws straight with crooked lines" and this is probably the most perfect example to date of that idea in my life. :)
And so my folks and Mark and I have truly had a week of epiphanies, leading to my parents' departure for home today and leaving Mark and I to a new life of being Wilsons three. So what are some of the epiphanies we've had?
1. The incredible love that leads you to not just say, but know in your core, that you can die for the sake of another person. How did God the Father so love us to send His only Son? My brain cannot comprehend the agony of their separation. How could I give my son to do such a thing? I could not. Thus, God is good.
2. A new level of gratitude and love on my part for my husband who was my rock during a very difficult labor in a new country. His patience and passion to fight for me was such a blessing and his laying down of self very evident. Our son is in good hands. :)
3. Massive joy to finally share with my parents what my siblings already have: a grandchild. God has given me the desires of my heart in this last year and a half with a loving husband and a sweet baby boy. I do not deserve these things and yet I have them. Good to remind myself of this at 2 am feedings. :)
4. An tremendous increase in the love for MY parents who came all this way and were such a help and comfort. After 32 years, it brings tears to my eyes to be able to present my son to the arms of my own parents and to share with them how they felt when I was born. ( my siblings too of course, but I'm the oldest you see :))
5. The amazement of studying a tiny hand that sits in mine and the two thoughts that came to my mind as I looked at it: first that my son is fearfully and wonderfully made, and second, that in 18 years, my hand will be dwarfed by his. I want to soak in every second of his tiny babyhood.
6. The joy of family. Mark and I are SO looking forward to spending a large chunk of our summer in the US with my siblings, cousins and grandmother. We just enjoy their company, but we also look forward to enjoying their company on the level of sharing parenthood with them and watching our children interact together. What a sweet thing is the fellowship of blood, both ours and Christ's.
7. For Mark's mum this is her first grandchild, and we look forward to sharing in her delight as she visits us soon.
8. The rather solemn responsibilities that Mark and I now have as parents to raise our son in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It's very frightening, and at the same time lovely to think about. So a new level of prayer and dependence on God is found in this New Year. As you think of us, pray that we will seek Him continually as we raise a family.
Happy New Year!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Christmas Anticipation
I know, I'm terrible at updating. I blame not having a great camera as I feel the need to put up pics when I write to illustrate what I'm talking about. :) So Mark and I will work on the great camera part, particularly now that we have the best reason in the world to need one!
But we took some pics with his smart phone and that worked well, so I thought I'd show you our flat. I may be about 9 months pregnant, but by golly, one has to have a fabulous Christmas tree and a dear friend helped us get ours last Monday. It's been fun adjusting to different traditions and trees over here. Sometimes it's quite trying but at Christmas it's been lovely. Mince pies and mulled wine are something Americans need to check out and no English home is complete without them at this time of year. But does that mean that my Christmas cookies are extinct? By no means!!! (As you'll see below) I'm all about the marriage of two cultures (obviously) I grew up getting a Grand Fir each year with our family. And I'll just toot my own horn here and say that I usually was the one to find the 'perfect' tree. I do miss those tree hunts, and the snow that went with them, but have discovered that England can give me a lovely substitute tree! It's called a Nordman fir and has the same gorgeous dark green shade as the Grand, but it's got the build and strength of branch of a Noble. So it's basically the perfect tree as I have some rather weighty ornaments. :)
So our flat is decorated, all cookie plates have been assembled and three candy cane coffee cakes are in the oven as I write. What's left? Well anticipation of course!! And not just for my favorite holiday. We'd really like a little boy to enjoy our tree on Christmas morning as well. :) We'll keep you posted!
But we took some pics with his smart phone and that worked well, so I thought I'd show you our flat. I may be about 9 months pregnant, but by golly, one has to have a fabulous Christmas tree and a dear friend helped us get ours last Monday. It's been fun adjusting to different traditions and trees over here. Sometimes it's quite trying but at Christmas it's been lovely. Mince pies and mulled wine are something Americans need to check out and no English home is complete without them at this time of year. But does that mean that my Christmas cookies are extinct? By no means!!! (As you'll see below) I'm all about the marriage of two cultures (obviously) I grew up getting a Grand Fir each year with our family. And I'll just toot my own horn here and say that I usually was the one to find the 'perfect' tree. I do miss those tree hunts, and the snow that went with them, but have discovered that England can give me a lovely substitute tree! It's called a Nordman fir and has the same gorgeous dark green shade as the Grand, but it's got the build and strength of branch of a Noble. So it's basically the perfect tree as I have some rather weighty ornaments. :)
So our flat is decorated, all cookie plates have been assembled and three candy cane coffee cakes are in the oven as I write. What's left? Well anticipation of course!! And not just for my favorite holiday. We'd really like a little boy to enjoy our tree on Christmas morning as well. :) We'll keep you posted!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Reflections on the bus
I promised I would write about this so here I am. :)
Riding the bus is always a bit of an experience, but once in a while you get a day that is rather unique. When Becky Nadreau was here in the summer, we had more than one of those days! You can ask her, but I think our favorite instance was the elderly man of about 80 flirting with the elderly lady of about 75. The whole bus could hear due to the likelihood that he was rather deaf and felt the need to repeat his amorous lines a few times in case she wasn't clear.
The other day, however, was a slightly different experience. I must confess, it was a bit of a long day as I had to make several journeys on the bus and spent a total of about 3 hours travelling. Being a good Western American I like my wide open spaces and if I have to spend that kind of time driving I'd like it to be open highway at 70 mph. :) Nonetheless, God gave me some humorous intervals beginning with my morning commute to work.
It's always crowded and it seemed to be even more so this morning. About 10 minutes into my journey, a lady with turrettes boarded the bus and sat down by me. I know she can't help it, but bear in mind that these are also English people on the bus. One does NOT talk on the bus. And at regular intervals she was hollering out various profanities. I found it humorous afterwards, but it's embarrassing while it occurs.
On the way back from work, we were invaded by the very loud people talking on their cell phones. It is true you get the occasional person who is inconsiderate and shares their life story with the whole bus. But to get THREE is a bit excessive, and there was a lot of very English eye-rolling and tuts of disapproval. It's not a that it's illegal to talk on your phone on the bus, but it is one of the very important unwritten English rules that one doesn't do it. I must confess to be right in there with the eye rolling. I would LOVE to turn around and actually say something to the phone people but that would cause more disapproval so I just blend in with the English and disapprove silently.
I had a meeting later in the evening and it was on that bus ride that I sat behind two white haired ladies chatting quietly about their neighborhoods, the grocery store and whether this stop was theirs. Or was it the next one? There was a repeat of this at the next stop and it turned out that it was actually the one after THAT which turned out to be their stop. :) And it was as they were shuffling off the bus, I knew I had to record this moment because one of the ladies had completed her very purple old lady outfit with purple fluffy slippers. You know the kind I mean--they go up your ankle and have that quilted look and fluffy purple fake fur poking out the tops.
So after feeling rather put out about exhausting bus trips most of the day, I finally had to smile.
Riding the bus is always a bit of an experience, but once in a while you get a day that is rather unique. When Becky Nadreau was here in the summer, we had more than one of those days! You can ask her, but I think our favorite instance was the elderly man of about 80 flirting with the elderly lady of about 75. The whole bus could hear due to the likelihood that he was rather deaf and felt the need to repeat his amorous lines a few times in case she wasn't clear.
The other day, however, was a slightly different experience. I must confess, it was a bit of a long day as I had to make several journeys on the bus and spent a total of about 3 hours travelling. Being a good Western American I like my wide open spaces and if I have to spend that kind of time driving I'd like it to be open highway at 70 mph. :) Nonetheless, God gave me some humorous intervals beginning with my morning commute to work.
It's always crowded and it seemed to be even more so this morning. About 10 minutes into my journey, a lady with turrettes boarded the bus and sat down by me. I know she can't help it, but bear in mind that these are also English people on the bus. One does NOT talk on the bus. And at regular intervals she was hollering out various profanities. I found it humorous afterwards, but it's embarrassing while it occurs.
On the way back from work, we were invaded by the very loud people talking on their cell phones. It is true you get the occasional person who is inconsiderate and shares their life story with the whole bus. But to get THREE is a bit excessive, and there was a lot of very English eye-rolling and tuts of disapproval. It's not a that it's illegal to talk on your phone on the bus, but it is one of the very important unwritten English rules that one doesn't do it. I must confess to be right in there with the eye rolling. I would LOVE to turn around and actually say something to the phone people but that would cause more disapproval so I just blend in with the English and disapprove silently.
I had a meeting later in the evening and it was on that bus ride that I sat behind two white haired ladies chatting quietly about their neighborhoods, the grocery store and whether this stop was theirs. Or was it the next one? There was a repeat of this at the next stop and it turned out that it was actually the one after THAT which turned out to be their stop. :) And it was as they were shuffling off the bus, I knew I had to record this moment because one of the ladies had completed her very purple old lady outfit with purple fluffy slippers. You know the kind I mean--they go up your ankle and have that quilted look and fluffy purple fake fur poking out the tops.
So after feeling rather put out about exhausting bus trips most of the day, I finally had to smile.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Catching up....
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| This is how you get 'em |
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| Perfect end to our spring evening stroll |
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| homemade berry cobbler |
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| What can I say? I wanted to make cupcakes |
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| Some lovely people visit! |
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| My 4th of July cherry pie |
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| Will and Katie go all-American |
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| Katie made this fabulous cake |
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| In line for Harry |
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| The people sitting next to us were serious fans. |
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| Opening credits! |
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Food inspired memories
I know, I know....I have shamefully neglected my blog. I had a few minor things come up, such as getting pregnant and moving house, so I humbly offer those things as an excuse. :) There is a great deal to write about, not least of which is our little person who is going to debut in December. But the topic I wanted to write on today is one that has been bounding around in my mind for some weeks now and I feel I should get it out of there before it does too much damage! So fear not, I have blog entries planned about late spring, 4th of July and our new place, but this must come first.
I don't know about you, but I find that I plunge down memory lane, almost every time I cook. And various dishes can produce very specific memories and experiences from my life. I haven't felt much like serious cooking for a while, but recently Becky came to visit and this inspired a return to the kitchen. One of the most precious gifts she brought with her from the States was Brianna's poppyseed dressing--the ONLY poppyseed dressing worth eating and I haven't had it in a year! Naturally this meant several salads just so we could eat it and I was recalling the very first time I ever had Brianna's grace my tongue. It was at Alice Kniss's home. I was a freshly minted college grad, living in Seattle to teach at my first school. I board with the lovely Kniss family and it was Alice who first showed me how to have lovely dinners that didn't take very long to prepare. I grew up very happily with meals made from scratch, but when one is working all day that isn't always possible. Alice one evening produced a roast chicken dinner and on the side was a gorgeous salad. It looked like it had taken a huge amount of time, but it was quite simply romaine, strawberries, blue cheese, and candied pecans. And over all of it was the poppyseed dressing of joy. I've never looked back and every time I eat it, I think of the Kniss home very fondly.
Of course, even the act of cleaning and ripping up romaine lettuce makes me think of the Shaws. They are very dear to my heart and were most definitely my second family in Seattle. Janna was and is one of the most hospitable people I know and so, given that I was there often, I got to help her prepare many meals. One of the staples was usually a gigantic salad of some sort and it was usually made with a Costco amount of romaine. Sometimes it was a classic Caesar (made with another favorite dressing--Gardini's) sometimes it was a balsamic and fruit salad, and sometimes a classic veg salad. But I loved washing so many heads of lettuce and it was Janna who showed me how to speed up the process by chopping the heads of lettuce rather than rip them.
I made my favorite Thai curry while Becky was with us, and of course I cannot mention Thai food without discussing Lori Schlect at some length. :) When I moved to Spokane I became a Thai food addict and this was one of many things that bonded Lori and I together (one of the other main 'things' being her dear daughter Kelly:)) and we often 'Thaied one on'. Sometimes we went out and enjoyed restaurant offerings. But it was loads of fun to make it ourselves as well and I think Lori's Pad Thai hit it out of the park. One of my favorite dishes was something called Gang Dang which sounds a bit like a curse, but it isn't. So I learned how to make it myself and every time I smell the curry and basil I am back with Lori and Liza eating Thai food (with peanut sauce and sticky rice of course!)
And of course, when I think about making food, I have to mention making bread--something I do weekly just as my mom did all through my childhood. The smell of fresh baked bread is something I associate with my home and every time I smell it here, thousands of miles away, I think of home. I always strove to be the first one to have a piece fresh out of the oven because the crusty heel was my favorite, soaked in butter.
I love food. I think most of us do, right? But there's something so evocative about so many smells and every time I cook, I'm on some trip down memory lane. I can't wait to pursue my culinary trips in this new place because the kitchen is.....!! But I'll save that for another post. :)
I don't know about you, but I find that I plunge down memory lane, almost every time I cook. And various dishes can produce very specific memories and experiences from my life. I haven't felt much like serious cooking for a while, but recently Becky came to visit and this inspired a return to the kitchen. One of the most precious gifts she brought with her from the States was Brianna's poppyseed dressing--the ONLY poppyseed dressing worth eating and I haven't had it in a year! Naturally this meant several salads just so we could eat it and I was recalling the very first time I ever had Brianna's grace my tongue. It was at Alice Kniss's home. I was a freshly minted college grad, living in Seattle to teach at my first school. I board with the lovely Kniss family and it was Alice who first showed me how to have lovely dinners that didn't take very long to prepare. I grew up very happily with meals made from scratch, but when one is working all day that isn't always possible. Alice one evening produced a roast chicken dinner and on the side was a gorgeous salad. It looked like it had taken a huge amount of time, but it was quite simply romaine, strawberries, blue cheese, and candied pecans. And over all of it was the poppyseed dressing of joy. I've never looked back and every time I eat it, I think of the Kniss home very fondly.
Of course, even the act of cleaning and ripping up romaine lettuce makes me think of the Shaws. They are very dear to my heart and were most definitely my second family in Seattle. Janna was and is one of the most hospitable people I know and so, given that I was there often, I got to help her prepare many meals. One of the staples was usually a gigantic salad of some sort and it was usually made with a Costco amount of romaine. Sometimes it was a classic Caesar (made with another favorite dressing--Gardini's) sometimes it was a balsamic and fruit salad, and sometimes a classic veg salad. But I loved washing so many heads of lettuce and it was Janna who showed me how to speed up the process by chopping the heads of lettuce rather than rip them.
I made my favorite Thai curry while Becky was with us, and of course I cannot mention Thai food without discussing Lori Schlect at some length. :) When I moved to Spokane I became a Thai food addict and this was one of many things that bonded Lori and I together (one of the other main 'things' being her dear daughter Kelly:)) and we often 'Thaied one on'. Sometimes we went out and enjoyed restaurant offerings. But it was loads of fun to make it ourselves as well and I think Lori's Pad Thai hit it out of the park. One of my favorite dishes was something called Gang Dang which sounds a bit like a curse, but it isn't. So I learned how to make it myself and every time I smell the curry and basil I am back with Lori and Liza eating Thai food (with peanut sauce and sticky rice of course!)
And of course, when I think about making food, I have to mention making bread--something I do weekly just as my mom did all through my childhood. The smell of fresh baked bread is something I associate with my home and every time I smell it here, thousands of miles away, I think of home. I always strove to be the first one to have a piece fresh out of the oven because the crusty heel was my favorite, soaked in butter.
I love food. I think most of us do, right? But there's something so evocative about so many smells and every time I cook, I'm on some trip down memory lane. I can't wait to pursue my culinary trips in this new place because the kitchen is.....!! But I'll save that for another post. :)
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