Christmas is coming

The kids are out sledding with Scott so I have some time to update the blog. We had a great visit from Mike Wegman from our old church at the beginning of December. The kids were especially excited to see him. We took advantage of his visit to buy a Christmas tree, and get some lights set up. We have never put up lights in Melbourne, but we decided that it is worth making a fuss about Christmas. For us it is a witness to how important the event of Jesus' birth really was. We want our kids to know that Christmas is more important than Halloween. Besides, when in America, it is fun to do what the Americans do (though maybe not to the same extent!).

Another reason to put up lights and decorations is that winter has definately come. With the snow and cold, it is easy to feel a bit depressed. Sure - it is beautiful to start with, but I know it is going to be like this till May. So making things a bit more pretty and bright is a good way to combat the blues.

Christmas here seems to be even less Christian than in Melbourne. Because there is a large Jewish population, there are also lots of decorations for Hannakah (sorry if that is spelt wrongly). I had to go to lots of shops to find a nativity scene. There is ltos of Santa, raindeers, nutcrackers, and gingerbread houses, but not much Jesus. The churches don't have a service on Christmas day. We have booked tickets (free) to go to Willow Creek for their Christmas presentation in Christmas Eve. Americans seem to repeat their Thanksgiving menu for Christmas. I am hoping to repeat the menu I'm used to my Mum cooking, with a roast chiken and vegies, and a plum pudding. Fortunately Mum and Dad sent me an Aussie hamper with a Christmas cake and pudding in it.

The children are certainly very excited about Christmas. At the girls' preschool they have been reading the story of Jesus everyday in December. They have been making lots of decorations, including an advent wreath. At church on Sunday our family lit the candles in the advent wreath, and shared about what difference Jesus had made in our lives this year. On Christmas day, we are hoping to start some new family traditions. We will see how it goes. As long as we can keep Jesus as our focus, we'll be right.

I have felt more homesick than ever, missing spending time with my family. On Sunday the passage we read was John 1:1-14. I shared about how meaningful it is to me that Jesus came to dwell amongst us, so that we can dwell eternally with Him. Even though our earthly home is transient, our heavenly home is everlasting. This is what helps me to keep going.

Sorry that I didn't manage to get many Christmas cards out. It really snuck up on me after Thanksgiving. I will hopefully do better next year. But please know that we are thinking of you, and we do hope you have a meanigful Christmas!

Snow

We have had a couple of good snowfalls, so it really feels like winter again. This morning it was beautiful to look out the window and see a lovely sun rise, and the sunrays shining across the white snow. Dante has to get all rugged up to catch the bus to school. He enjoyed playing in the snow with his friends while the bus came. Though it was beautiful it was -12 degrees celcius, and my legs were cold!

Thanksgiving

Yesterday was our first thanksgiving. I can't tell you how many people have asked whether we celebrate thanksgiving in Australia. Thanksgiving started when the pilgrims first came to America, and the Indians helped them survive through the harsh winter, and taught them how to plant crops. Then when they had a good harvest of corn, pumpkins etc, they invited the Indians to a feast to give thanks to God. (That's probably the clean version).

Traditionally people travel to spend the day with their family, and eat a huge meal. There are very set traditional dishes that are only eaten at Thanksgiving. We had our neighbours and some Trinity people over for lunch. We had a roast turkey, cranberry sauce, gravy, mashed potatoes, a corn dish, a sweet potatoe dish (with lots of brown sugar in it), a green bean casserole with deep fried onions in it, and pumpkin pie for dessert. We really appreciated our friends who came over and helped prepare all the food, and spent the time with us. Scott even squeezed in some American football in the local park with the guys between main meal and dessert.

Confirmation

On Sunday, Scott and I were accepted as members at our new church - North Shore Chinese Christian Church (http://www.nsccc.org/). As part of this process, I also got confirmed. Although I have been a Christian for about 17 years, I have never been confirmed, for various reasons. I was very happy to be confirmed at our new church. (P.S. This doesn't mean I have left the Anglican church - we have dual membership.)

Dante and his five pumpkins

Halloween

OK. So I am nearly a month late on this blog. Halloween was a huge blast. The kids loved it. Dante had a parade at school, and I was amazed to see how everyone had dressed up, and the creativity, including the teachers. As soon as the kids got home from school they put on their costumes. We have heaps of kids on our street, so we had a group photo, then off they went. The group quickly split into two, with the older kids, mostly boys, going together, and then the younger ones. I stayed with Grace and Angie, and entrusted Dante to a neighbour. Angie dressed as Ariel the mermaid, Dante as Indiana Jones, and Gracie as Minnie Mouse (I lost the ears and gloves - opps!)

The setting was so beautiful with all the autumn colours. People had gone to a lot of trouble to decorate their houses, and some also wore costumes. Nearly every door the kids knocked on yielded candy. There were lots of groups of people out in the streets which created a very festive atmosphere.

A few houses stand out in my memory. One where the lady had set up a table and was serving hot apple cider, and marshmellows to roast on the fire. Another was a lady who was sitting on a chair outside her front door. She had a huge spider next to her, and was covered in spiders web - you couldn't even see her face. Around her were witches and other horribles. The third one was a man who answered the door...well, the picture is below. He looked like a hunchback with blood painted on his chin. Angie was too scared to go up to these ones, but Gracie was a bold as brass. She wanted to know whether the blood was real, and where it came from. The man said it was from his neighbour...

Afterwards our street group met at Jody's house for dinner. Pizza all 'round. Overall, the kids had a ball, and decided they want to stay in Chicago for more halloweens. Unfortunately Scott missed it because he was away for the week. Though halloween was fun, I was also glad to see some of the scary decorations taken down, and start to be replaced by 'holiday' decorations. Halloween was such a big thing here, with such a big build-up, that there was no way we couldn't let our kids participate. For them, it was a fun time of dressing up and getting lots of lollies. Next year - I really want my brother Peter to be here. I think he could come up with some creative ideas!

American Girl

Gracie and Angie are turning five. I have promised them all year that for their birthday I would take them for a special lunch at the American Girl Doll shop. It was a lovely girls' outing, even more special with their Bobby there too. The girls chose a doll each (called Bitty Twins), and also chose a pair of pajamas with a matching set for their doll.

The lunch was an amazing affair. The room was beautiful, with lots of pink daisies everywhere. For drinks we had pink lemonade. The girls had a special chair to put their dolls on to sit at the table with them, and a celebration birthday hat. They shared an iced birthday cake, though I think Angie was a bit overwhelmed when the waiters joined in the singing.

Back at home in their pajamas, here is what the girls thought of their day...

Visit to Oz

I had a wonderful visit to Australia. It was so nice to catch up with my old friends, and see some new babies that had been born.




My beautiful god-daughter Joanna, and her new baby sister Simone.











The reason I went was to be part of Kate Orchard's wedding. It was a special priveledge to be her bridesmaid (matron of honour sounds far too old!). It was really nice spending time with Anna and Emma, the other two bridesmaids.




Thanks especially to Ros and Chris, and the Fong family, for hosting me in their homes, and lending me their cars (very brave considering I had been used to driving on the right side of the road!). Thanks also to my Mum and Scott for looking after the kids while I was gone.

Mum and Dad

My parents have come to visit. Yeah! Mum is going to stay here to help Scott while I am back in Melbourne for my friend's wedding. So this blog is for my brothers (do you guys read my blog???) to show them that Mum and Dad made it here.

Halloween

The Halloween hype has already started. Actually, it started about three weeks ago in our family, with the kids wanting to choose their costumes. Now everyone else is catching up. The neighbours have started to decorate their houses, and even the main village square has put on quite an amazing display (not sure that it is so great for the little ones to see!).

Autumn

Autumn is arriving in Chicago. The temperature has dropped, and the leaves are all changing colour. People who live here say that autumn is their favourite season, so I am looking forward to watching the trees. Apparently they all lookf great for two weeks, and then all the leaves drop over five days. I just hope I will not miss the show while I am in Australia.

With autumn comes lots of "Harvest" festivals and decorations. These get mixed up with Halloween a lot. But basically there are lots of pumpkins around, bales of hay, people decorate with scarecrows, and every so often there is a pilgrim statue. Oh - the other popular item is apples. People go apple picking, and eat toffee apples (or apples covered in fudge, or chocolate, or whatever!). Of course, I took my parents to the Botanic Gardens for the Harvest festival.

Limitations

Over here I listen a lot to Moody Radio as I drive around. I heard a sermon where the preacher was talking about limitations - not being able to do everything, fix everything, solve everything etc. It is interesting that in America the preacher has to remind people that they have limitations. It is a culture where you are told that you can do anything, be anything - even the President! This concept of limitations was familiar to me because I read a book earlier in the year with a chapter on "the gift of limitations" (Americans know how to make everything sound positive!). In America you don't ask for help because it makes you look weak. You have to try to convince people that working together with you towards this particular goal is to their benefit. The art of manipulation. Yet Americans are a lot more open about their emotional struggles than Aussies. It's OK to "have a moment" - as long as you can still "get with the program" and get the job done.

I don't think you would hear a sermon about this in Australia, but I have found it interesting to reflect on. Going to live in another culture can bring out some strengths. I feel we have done well with moving over, setting up the house, getting the kids organised, and Scott doing well in his studies. But moving overseas also shines a big bright light on our weaknesses, as individuals, and as a couple. When I am unable to achieve what I want, sometimes I get angry and try to blame other people (usually Scott), or circumstances. Other times I get down, and feel despair at myself. As you can imagine, neither is helpful.

So maybe the sermon and the book chapter are helpful for me. Being willing to admit my limitations without shame, learn how to live with them graciously, appreciate other people's strengths without begrudging, and trusting in God to carry us through. A hard lesson to learn.

We had a great day at the zoo with John and Gayelene.

Family Visit

John and Gayelene have arrived in Chicago! It feels like we have been waiting so long for them to arrive, and now they are here. We took them out to a celebratory dinner at our favourite with-the-kids-restaurant. The kids have been so excited to see them, and have lots of cuddles and chats.

Soccer

With the immanent arrival of Fall, the soccer season has started. Dante had his first practise last Wednesday, and played his first game on Sunday. He did really well, and really enjoyed it. Of course, his father is pretty stoked to finally see his son on the soccer field!

Gardening

The children each spent a week at the Botanic Gardens over summer. Each day they brought back a plant they had potted. We had already created a samll garden under the pine tree, so we dug some extra holes for the new plants. The kids really enjoyed gardening, and watching some of the flowers come out.

Dante decided that he could be a plant too, and hopped into the hole. Of course, the gtreatest interest was all the worms.

Scott's studies

Scott's friend Jake has been studying German with him. He came over from New York, while his wife, Heather, packed up their apartment and finished up at her work. We introduced Jake to Chicago style pizza. It has a very deep, think pastry, and an almost soupy topping. Very filling. Jake and Heather are now living in an apartment very close to where we are.

Scott has his final exam in German tomorrow. It has been a long and intense course over summer, and we will be very thankful when it is finished. Scott has been getting good marks so far, so hopefully he will do well enough in the exam. Next week he has a break, then semester will start again.

Scott has also started work with D A Carson. He is excited about his first project, and working together with Andy, who works full time for Carson.

We are watching a bit of the Olympics - but of course they only really show the USA team, so it is hard to see what the Aussies are doing. Fortunately for the internet, we can keep up with some of the Aussie news.

Opps! I uploaded the wrong bit. But it is my bedtime now, so I will try again tomorrow. At least the music is still worth listening to :)

This video was produced by Caitlin. She is a uni student from our church who looks after the girls two mornings a week. It goes for 9 mins. I especially love the music. We are very grateful to have Caitlin!

Botanic Gardens - Reflection

I like who I am here.
I like wandering around with only my thoughts in my head.
No children complaining, asking for things, fighting.
No washing to be done, clothes to be folded and put away.
No dirt staring at me from the floor, blaming me for little shoes worn on the carpet.
No dust floating along the floorboards, waiting to be swept away, taunting me with how long I've let them stay.

Just me and my thoughts,
a bird who lands lightly in my path,
a chipmunk evading my camera,
in the corner of my eye a white butterfly.
I love wandering down the path, going wherever I want to, at my own pace.
Turning the corner and finding a surprise.
Something new I haven't seen before - a flower, a sculpture, a hidden path.

I love the little signs along the way.
I can ignore them with no ill feeling, or I can stop and read them.
They are only there for my good. Not to bring confusion, pain or disappointment.
A gentle voice which helps me appreciate the textures and colours,
or gives me tips for how to prune roses, for when I have some,
telling a story of the plants growing there.

I love the gentle sound of water flowing, the art of a fountain large or small,
the refreshing burst into the air, and free fall that will not hurt.

I think about the thought and care that is behind each tended garden.
I love the architecture that makes your raise your eyes to see the grander vista,
then lets you rest your eyes on the beautiful detail of a single flower. The silent Companion walks with me, and I am grateful that He brought me here.

The beauty captivates me and fills my soul with happiness and peace.

Good news

Scott had an amazing week this week. He went for a job interview with Don Carson on Monday, and found out later that same day that he received the job. It is working as an assistant for Carson, 5-10 hours a week. He will mainly help with grading papers, and doing research in original languages. He starts in about three weeks, after German is finished.

Then later in the week he found out he has been accepted to deliver a paper at an evangelical conference held at Rhode Island (near New York). He still has to write the paper, but this is a great opportunity for him.

All in God's grace!

Summertime

Summertime is an amazing phenomena here in Chicago. After hibernating for the winter, everyone comes out to play. There are free music concerts going on all over the place. On Wednesday I packed a picnic for the girls, and we went to the local park where they had a children's singer playing the guitar. The girls loved it. People are obsessed with going to the swimming pool. They always ask me if I have my pool pass yet (which I don't, because I'm not that obsessed). You have to buy a pool pass from the local park district to go to the pol. To go to the beach you also have to buy a pass, which costs over $100. We haven't been to the beach this summer.

Favourite food for summer is definately BBQ's, mainly hotdogs with flourescent green relish (not sure what's in it). Next is ice-creams.

Sport is huge. Kids are booked into baseball teams from 5 yrs old. There is practise during the week, and a game on the weekend. Lots of families can be seen riding their bikes (called "biking" not "riding"). They have a little wagon on the back for little tots to sit in. Luckily it is very flat around here. In the evening you see Dads playing basketball, or throwing the baseball with their kids - just like TV.

Fashion: flip-flops (don't dare call them thongs!) pretty much all the time; nearly every woman's foot that I have seen has red nailpolish on it; tye-die t-shirts for the men and kids; of course, baseball tops; matching accessories.

Summer camps - all of the kids on our street are going to summer day camps, so my kids see them less than they did during the school year. Dante is looking forward to going back to school so he can catch the bus with his friends again. Dante is also going to a summer camp and loving it. He has swim lessons everyday, and very proudly told me how he jumped off the diving board the other day and didn't need help to get to the edge. The 'camp counsellors' are uni students, and lots of fun.

Apparently the weather has been pretty mild. It has only just started getting into the 30's, and I don't think has gone over 35. The main difference to Australia is that there are a lot of thunderstorms, and lots of rain. The local district has a siren that goes off to warn of lightening - just in case you are in a swimming pool or playing golf. Funny thing is that they still go off during the night. I can tell that I am still very much an Aussia, because I still get very excited about the rain. Wish I could send it down south.

Scott has been missing much of the summer fun because he is still doing his German intensive. He is enjoying meeting some new students who have arrived at Trinity, and has a new friend from New York called Jake (who very helpfully fixed our shower the other day). Tomorrow he has a job interview with Don Carson to be a research assistant - not everyday that happens to an Aussie. Unfortunately, he hurt his back the other day rescuing a falling chest of drawers (thanks to Angela), and has been on valium, so I hope the interview goes OK.

Scott and I went to see the batman movie the other day. Americans are more vocal during movies - quite funny sometimes. And they clapped at the end. A lot of the movie was filmed in Chicago, and you can see some of the beautiful architecture. Tomorrow I am taking the girls to see "Kit Kitteridge" and American doll girl movie. As you can see - summer has so far been full of adventure. I'm sure there will be more.

Dante's Birthday Party - Now he's 7!!!