And the beat goes on . . .

We had a fabulous time when Mom and Dad stayed with us earlier this month. There was, of course, lots of dancing. Watching the video below reminded me of all of the dancing around the house in Oregon last Christmas.

Food for Thought

Here is a bit of commentary on receiving service and human nature. In thinking on this for the past few months, I have gained understanding and a new perspective on myself, on pride, human nature, serving others and feel I can better understand the reactions of others while being served. Enjoy!

The Four Loves, C. S. Lewis pp.132

"Suppose yourself a man struck down shortly after marriage by an incurable disease which may not kill you for many years; useless, impotent, hideous, disgusting; dependent on your wife's earnings, impoverishing where you hoped to enrich; impaired even in intellect and shaken by gusts of uncontrollable temper, full of unavoidable demands. And suppose your wife's care and pity to be inexhaustible. The man who can take this sweetly, who can receive all and give nothing without resentment, who can abstain even from those tiresome self-deprecations which are really only a demand for petting and reassurance, is doing something which Need-love [one of the four loves which exist] in its merely natural condition could not attain. (No doubt such a wife will also be doing something beyond the reach of a natural Gift-love, but that is not the point at present.) In such a case to receive is harder and perhaps more blessed than to give."

Bagels anyone?

Just thought I would share that Emily learned how to make bagels this week. They are quite delicious. These ones are cinnamon raisin. I guess the trick is to boil them first and then cook them.

The other day she also made whole wheat lasagna using our new pasta machine!

Oh and this week we decided to try Rainbow Chard. It's kinda like romaine but it has a stalk that is bright red and orange, kinda like liquorish and at least just as good!

Sorry if it seems dumb to talk about our recent meals but we are having fun :)

Thanks for your thoughts

Emily is doing much better now. Friday's lesson went especially well for her. She teaches one class that is much more quiet than her others so she is able to do more rambunctious activities which makes things fun. Her students are starting their research projects so Emily needed to topic to give examples for how to research and present the paper. Guess what she chose for her topic?... You guessed it, healthy living. She has been showing videos from CNN and on Youtube of interviews of 110 year old Okinawa ladies and things like that. She is having a blast. Thank you for your prayers and emails. She has a good start now and is excited for the rest of the semester!

Doug

Student teaching for Emily

Hi Family,

I just wanted to ask if you can keep Emily in your prayers especially this week. She starts student teaching tomorrow (Monday) and she has really struggled to feel confident about being a teacher and just not knowing if she is going to say the right things. Actually if you have a minute too, it would be great to send her an uplifing email or something like that. Hope things are going well for you all and we love you!

Doug

The other side of weather

Just in case Mom and Dad forget, this is what snow looks like. This is what a LOT of snow looks like. I didn't take a picture of the Bingham's mailbox box but the snow as practically covering the whole post (because of the snow plow pushing all the snow there).

I suppose Nikki and Jason though have much more snow than Utah.

Evergreen and Traditions last forever!

Just wanted to show the family some of our Christmas decorations. Yes those are our tree stump slices! Two years running now.  Just imagine in 80 years! We'll have to have a second house to display them all!  Smiths pokes a hole in the middle of the trunk so it makes the slices easy for hanging. By the way, we had to have something up for stockings so we chose my thermal socks :).

Happy New Year!

Hello dear family from beautiful Miami. We welcomed in the new year on Grandma and Grandpa's balcony where we could see fireworks from all parts of the city. Yet, no matter how hard I try, I just can't believe it is the holiday season even as I put up and took down the Christmas decorations. But we are having a wonderful time being here with my parents and enjoying this unique culture and scenery. On December 30th, Dad and I packed a lunch and headed out for the day. Our journey took us to the Florida Keys, though we didn't make it all the way to Key West, the furthest southern point in the United States. But we drove about half way through the Keys, stopping to watch the tarpon feed in Islamirada, havng lunch by the Atlantic, and watching a parasailor in the Gulf of Mexico. How strange for us that the water in the Atlantic is so warm and where are the waves? And to walk for 100 feet out and still only be in knee deep water... all so different from the Pacific and certainly different from any holiday experience as we had to cover ourselves from the hot sun! We ended the day at Miami Beach where we walked along the boardwalk under the crescent moon and listened to the different languages spoken... I don't think we heard English once!

On December 19th, Grandma & Grandpa took us to a performance by Seraphic Fire and Firebird Chamber Orchestra of Handel's Messiah at the Arsht Performing Arts Center in Miami (our Christmas present). It was an unforgettable experience for both of us. We were so uplifted by the beautiful voices and musicians who interpreted the words and music so beautifully. It is hard to express just how wonderful that experience was.

Grandma & I had fun preparing our Christmas Eve dinner complete with turkey & dressing, gravy, southern cooked green beans, scalloped pineapple, sweet potato casserole, and the infamous green stuff! It was not our traditional chili, nor was it a night of caroling (we did call Steve Hagler the next night and sung happy birthday to him), but it was a wonderful time together... our 1st Christmas with my parents since Dad and I married. And very different from the Christmas they were having back in Canby... 14 inches of snow and the worst storm since 1968. In a way, we were sorry not to experience that, but we will get over it!!! Some other memories include:

Special Christmas gifts, our morning swims with Grandpa, even one morning when Grandma came down for a few minutes, this amazing "resort", more relaxing in the Keys, including a Key Largo sun setting (we didn't stay for the whole event),

So... happy new year from Florida. We are soooo grateful to have seen Jason, Nikki, Bekah, and James on our way here and count that as a very tender mercy. We are grateful that Angie has been there in Chicago with them and are mindful of her travels home today. We are grateful that Doug and Emily are with Emily's family, having had special moments with a brother-in-law and brother who recently left for Afghanistan and a mission and enjoying that new niece and all wonderful Bingham family. And we are grateful that Russ and Anne, Kaylee and Ashlyn are making memories with Anne's family and are there to help Anne's Dad as he recovers from his sledding accident (ouch!) and that we will see them next Tuesday for our last 4 days away from home!

We are also grateful for the past year that has brought new challenges and blessings and we look forward to 2009 with hope and anticipation of more growth and blessings. We love you all!

MOM and DAD