Merry Christmas!

...from Canton, GA!
Ryan & I drove down here in our NEW Chevy Malibu, "Roxy," on Monday, and have been hanging out with our family since. More on Roxy later-- like her predecessors, Max & Caleb, she is burgundy/red. Unlike them, she is completely UNbroken! No tape, no dents, no scratches... it's pretty amazing to us both!

We've enjoyed both chilly and warmer weather, Dominoes, Rummikub, Cranium, good food, good movies (like The Tale of Despereaux), family, talking, stories, Grandpa's fudge, and even walking around the subdivision. I've tried my hand at adapting some recipes to gluten-freeness for the whole family (a little scary for everyone, I think!-- certainly for me!); pancakes & eggs for breakfast yesterday, and pumpkin pie today. Both were met with at the very least consumption, and at best decisive compliments, so I am very grateful. I was praying for culinary grace there!

We opened presents from our drawn-name-recipient last night (Christmas Eve)...hehe story there for another day... that was really fun. The gifts this year were so creative and thoughtful! When we're home with our cable, I'll upload some pics! Grandma got a digital camera from her daughters & sons-in-law, and was rendered speechless for an entire minute! (that is a feat indeed!) This morning we waited for the Grands to get here (we're all at Ryan's parents' townhouse, but they're staying at the AFB hotel), and after reading the Nativity account in St. Luke 2, we opened the rest of our presents. Ryan got me three books which I am already delving into-- I'm in the middle of one that he found in a little shop in New Orleans on his last business trip called The Legacy of St. Patrick; as found in his own writings (Martin P. Harney). It's so inspiring! The man was such a champion of the faith! (the other books were Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling, and ). Ryan's quite happy with his ESV Study Bible from me. Oh yes and I can't WAIT to listen to my new Andrew Peterson Resurrection Letters, Vol. II.!!!

From a very warm Canton, GA, Ryan & I wish you all a wonderfully happy-to-your-toes celebration of the Incarnation. I'm reading Lauren Winner's Girl Meets God right now (highly recommended), and her Advent chapters are very very insightful! Maybe tomorrow I'll put a quote from her book on here-- it was the doctrine of the Incarnation, of God becoming Immanuel- God with us- which first drew her to Christianity out of the rich tradition of Orthodox Judaism.

Embrace the wonder of it! Just think...

"In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word WAS God... and the Word of God became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory..." (Jn. 1:1,14). Amazing. In all the foreshadowing and promises, no one expected that God would send Himself to save His people... I guess the tabernacle was the biggest clue-- by law it was to be always smack dab in the very middle of the people's camp, and because of it's presence the people were both commanded to be and declared holy-- because their God was in their midst. And then in the person and physical body of Jesus the Christ, He actually came and walked among us, as one of us. And He's promised to never never ever leave us.

Wow.

Merry Christmas.