Merry Christmas!

Christmas was story-book like this year.  Although we had no snow, it was a peaceful, joyous, Christ-centered celebration.  My favorite part was listening to the music at Council Road.  The church may have changed a lot since I was a child, but the music is the same-- sincere, beautiful and spirit-filled.  A woman sang a song in Spanish and it really touched me.  God meets every one of the needs of my family.  Rodolfo was really missing his parents and brother and sister this Christmas.  Hearing this song, sung in his language, helped to fill a little of the emptiness I know he felt.  Georgia perked up too and listened to the song intently.  It was really nice.  And, on another note, Santa was a big hit this year too.  Georgia was completely excited about his arrival.  We sprinkled "reindeer food" out on the lawn so the reindeer would know where to land.  It was a mixture of crushed up Fruit Loops and glitter.  We made Santa cookies and she drew him a special picture (see above).   Santa obliged by bringing many items from her wish list, including a Barbie wedding dress (most wanted item), a nativity set, some books and, ehem, undies.  :)  I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas too!  Merry Christmas!

december camera roll

Ready for her preschool Christmas party.

Out at Granny and Grampy's house this afternoon.

Dolled up getting ready for preschool Christmas party.

Waldorf with his bedroom eyes.

Just about to go to school.

Gigi and Gabs.

Georgia and Grampy Max.

Gigi and Lily.

At Ol' Papa's office Christmas Party.

One of my most favorite recent pictures of Rodolfo and Gigi.

At Bellini's.

Santa came and visited the school

Gigi and Sari looking very Christmasy indeed!

Grampy Max.

Gigi among the hedgerows.

Pre-school party central.

Me and Grampy.  Photo taken by Georgia.

Me and Granny.  Photo taken by Georgia.

I thought this was cute.

High tea with some women I really admire.

Whew!  What a busy month.

SOOC.  To be fair, though, I did clone out a fire hydrant, a campaign sign and a street lamp.  But I did not adjust the colors.  Isn't the color brillant!

Head in the Clouds

Isn't the Oklahoma sky gorgeous?  I can never get enough of it.  It has been nice living out here with my mom and dad.  The sky is huge out here.  We have about 2 weeks left on the renovation and then we move back into the city.  I am very much looking forward to being in my own place with space for all my papers and books, but there are things that I will miss.  I will miss seeing my mom in her blue bathrobe under her "electric hug" (electric blanket).  I'll miss the noise of  my dad's coffee pot in the morning.  I'll miss the big back yard with the fort and the giant sky.  In the city the land rolls, it is not super flat.  There are trees too and so the skyline is obscured.  I like the feeling of openness that reaches all around me and above me.  I get claustrophic in cities.  It is funny, I once worked with a woman from South Korea.  She disliked Oklahoma for the same reason I love it-- the openness.  She was accustomed to crowded city streets with people, noise and buildings.  She said that open fields made her feel lonely.  I was really surprised by her reaction to all the space here.  Open fields and sky make me feel ALIVE.  I can breathe and think, I feel free.  I feel the same way when I am at the beach.  It makes me want to run and dance and dive in.  Don't get me wrong.  I love cities too-- the food, art, shopping and education available in cities are hard to beat.  But there is something inside of me that longs for open space.  I was watching a documentary on National Parks with my parents.  The commentator described the wilderness in National parks as Eden, land that has been untouched since creation.  He said that when a person enters into a wilderness he sheds all the power a human holds over nature.  In cities nature has been tamed by man, we control it, we own it.  In the wilderness the playing field is equalized and instead of controlling nature, we are a part of it.  Being part of nature stirs us from deep within, like a beautiful memory of a past forgotton.  It quenches that longing to be part of something greater than ourselves.  I thought this was an eloquent description of the emotions I also encounter when I walk amongst the clouds in the fields.  I feel like I am part of something greater there.  That is often where I sense the grandness of the Creator himself.

Fall Open House

Georgia had an open house at her school in November.  It was beyond cute.  Each child was wearing a headband with a feather stuck it in that they made while they were studying the Native Americans.  On the headband was every child's Native American name.  Georgia was "she who loves the Jungle Book".  I got a good laugh when I saw her name!  This girl is crazy about this story!  We were able to go to each of the stations and see a glimpse of the activities the children do throughout the week.  Then we all sat around in a circle and listened to the children sing their songs while we ate cornbread muffins that they had prepared for us.  I wish I had taken more pictures but I was too busy observing, talking and listening to snap away.

Different Perspective

Well, I have now been obeying the speed limit for nearly two weeks.  Life seems to be passing by at a much slower pace.  It is a nice change and surprise that simply by slowing down in the car my life seems to have slowed down too.  I don't rush to get out of the door, I plan ahead of time to leave at a decent hour.  I don't have frantic thoughts running through my mind as to how to cram in all the activities I need to do.  I simply budget the time for them and they all seem to fall into line.  It is nice being at this slower pace.  And I am amazed at how many people actually follow the speed limit.  Slowing down has allowed me to observe that 90% of the people on the road are going the speed limit or less.  I never knew.  I have been driving for nearly 18 years (amazing!) and I always thought people pushed the speed limit.  What an eye-opening experience to see that they actually do not!

This type of world-view changing experience reminds me of my first year of teaching.  Before I ever taught I saw the world as pretty black and white where school was concerned.  A student either did his work and earned his grade or he didn't do the work and at the worst failed.  As a teacher I was able to see the behind-the-scenes agony that many teachers face trying to pass their students.  Most teachers don't want to give easy As, but at the same time most teachers don't want to be tyrants either.  They try to take into account a child's home life / health / social challenges and personal strengths and weaknesses before they give them the final grade (allowing make-up tests and extra credit to even out any odds and ends).  Add on top of that parents who pressure teachers to dish out passing grades and the whole picture really changes.  Who knew, right?  But I guess I was primed for life to have its surprises.  Studying French in college helped me realize that life is not always perceived by others how it has been presented to you.  It was all the cultural differences between a French woman and an Oklahoman that first opened pandora's box and challenged my understanding of how the world works.  And, I guess, my time interning in DC and working for the Senator also helped push the envelope too.  The people making the laws are not always following the rules they are creating, though there must be a few noble souls out there truly trying to do good-- good as they understand it.  (Is there actually good that is definable?  I believe so, the Bible defines it clearly if you study it in earnest.)  And of course, being married to a Guatemalan has been the ultimate challenge to my life perspective.  We understand each other more clearly now than ever before, but without a doubt we still perceive the world through wholly different eyes.

It is comforting to find like-minded souls who dance to the same rhythm of life, who see the world from a similar perspective.  But life is richer when one's perspective is challenged and renewed.  So although the tickets were not a pleasant thing to receive, I am grateful for them.  They have taught me a new lesson that is proving to be valuable... Slow down, life won't run away from you, it might actually come to you!  :)

P.S.  Maybe this is why I love photography so much.  I feel like my perspective is always being challenged at some level and with photography I have a chance to say "See, here is the way I see it.  This is how I view life and all that is around me."  With photography I get to make an exclamation point about my view of the world.