Happy Birthday Kara!

Today is Kara's 35th birthday, and although I can't claim originality in this idea of sharing best wishes to her on this blog (see her Oct. 9 entry to me), I can claim it's appropriateness though, given our new and extended miles from most of our friends & family and how great of an idea she had. Plus, I'm not the most creative type, so...I'll borrow from her cleaverness. ;>)

First and foremost, for those who know Kara at all, we know of her deep and sincere heart for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This aspect of her life was one of the very first obvious things to me when I first met her some 15+ years ago. Unsurprisingly, it is also one of the many things I love most about her. Her heart and love for God is seen evidently through each of the fruits of the Spirit I see in her daily: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. I honestly couldn't pick any one of the nine over any of the others to be more describing of Kara.

The very next thing that comes to my mind about Kara is how great of a mother she is to our two great kids, Samuel and Sarah Grace. Although we are always trying to figure out this parenting thing, Kara has always amazed me with her never-ending devotion towards consistently seeking to not only provide them with the best home, education and opportunities, but even more so in providing them with the best mother she can be ("working" on herself, just as much, if not more, than she "works" on them). Samuel and Sarah Grace will probably never know how great of a mother she is...but I do, and I thank God daily for that. She has sacrificed so much for them and me - but counts it all a joy. She is the consummate mother - she loves them (and me) so much and so unconditionally.

Kara is also my best friend. My favorite times are when we are doing something together. We may not enjoy all of the same hobbies (knitting, reading and singing for her; soccer, chess and football for me), but she actively and regularly supports and encourages me in everything I set out to do - whether it's really trivial or not. And as you can only assume from a best friend, she is my absolute biggest encourager when I'm struggling with anything. Whether it's been the recent job uncertainties I've faced or another long losing streak in chess ;>). The other neat thing about being her best friend, is seeing what a great friend she is to others - which I know many of you can attest.

In addition to being such an amazing wife, mother and friend, she is also so talented in so many other areas. One of her passions is singing. Although she may not be the most talented/gifted singer (but she is good!), the combination of her talent along with her obvious heart for singing and passion to lead others in worship is unmistakable. She also enjoys sharing her passion with children by leading them in this at church as well.

In addition to all of these things about Kara I love, there are so many others as well. First of all, and obvious to most, is that she puts up with and loves me. That in itself deserves a lot of recognition. Secondly, is the way that she deals with her own struggles (Celiac for one). She's the last to complain about such hardships that she must deal with on a daily basis, and it's almost easy to forget she has her own problems (while she's helping us with our own). And finally, I must say, she's definitely one of the smartest people I've ever met. If it had been her desire, she easily could've been and done anything career-wise she would've liked to have done and been extremely successful. That being said, she did exactly just that - she is in fact the most amazing friend, wife and mother there could be.

We love you Kara!
Greg, Samuel & Sarah Grace

Samuel's AT-TE Walker

This is the largest Lego set Samuel has done yet.  It's also his favorite.  Thanks Aunt Kayla and Uncle Jason!

Wanna see what we do when we're bored?

We made a Christmas video.  We did it for a "contest" between our family and Dale and Kirsten's.  We had a lot of fun making it with our family and the family next door.   So here it is....but before you hit PLAY,  make sure you have your speakers up and then scroll down to the very bottom of the blog to the music player and click on the PAUSE button, so that you will only hear the music in the video.

Well, I hope that brought some smiles to your day!  

LYMYWY,

Kara

Addendum to Arctic Blast....

Here are some more pics for your viewing enjoyment!  The dog in the pics is Sadie, the dog-next-door.  She is sweet and a faithful running companion!  The other pics are from Halloween when Samuel and Sarah Grace dressed up as Superman and Supergirl.  I have also included a couple of pics from the Awana grand prix where Samuel's car, 'Spike' won second place for speed and Sarah Grace's car "Ocean on Wheels",  won first place for design.  The kids totally designed the cars themselves and both cars excelled at what their designers had in mind.  It was a fun day.

Kara

The Arctic Blast and other happenings....

There is currently about eight inches of snow on the ground outside our house.  All of this winter weather started exactly one week ago with a storm that caused churches and schools to be cancelled for the following week.  Just when the ice and snow had thawed, we got hit with another storm.  This one, it seems, is even worse than the first.  There is a layer of ice about 1/4-1/2 inch thick laying on top of all of the snow that came before it.   The town of Lake Oswego has pretty much shut down.  

Church was cancelled for the second Sunday in a row, so our next-door and across-the-street neighbors all joined at our house for an impromptu worship service led by Miguel (our super nice, very talented next-door neighbor).   We sang songs and read some Advent scriptures and prayed.  After that, Miguel declared he was feeling cabin-feverish and so we all joined him in walking to Starbucks.  Starbucks didn't have any electricity, so they were closed as was just about every other business except for Albertsons.  So we went there and picked up some items to add to the Carne Asada dinner that Colleen is making for all of us tonight.   Colleen, for those of you who don't know, is Miguel's wife and my best friend in Oregon :)!

Greg and Sarah Grace decided they wanted burgers for lunch and so they walked back to the store (which trust me, is no easy task right now).  As I started writing this the snow has started falling again and it's coming down pretty heavily.  I just heard a terrible cracking sound followed by a loud thud and opened up the door to hear some guys walking and talking about how unbelievable this weather is and how they had better be careful what trees they walk under.  Apparently, a sizable limb just fell off of a tree in my driveway!  I will be glad when Greg and SG are back here safe and sound.  

Aside from the weather, we have  just been busy getting ready for Christmas.  We took the kids to see Santa a week ago this past Saturday.  That was at a local rec. center and was a lot of fun.  We have done shopping and we got a tree and decorated it with homemade decorations (since all of our Christmas stuff is in Charlotte).   In many ways, this Christmas has been "simplified" a lot, and you know what?  It's great!  I am missing my family back east pretty sorely right now, but I am also overcome by a deep sense of gratitude for all I have and for how God has so tenderly cared for us these past few months.

Greg is still playing indoor soccer for two teams.   Some of you know, I had taken up running after we moved here.  I have been sidelined for the last month though due to injuries.  I am hopeful to get back to it soon by starting with a steady walking regimen and move back into the running slowly.  

We are getting somewhat active in our church.  I am slated to sing on Christmas Eve in a trio and with the worship team and Greg has been asked to help with communion.  I am also planning (after much prayer) to lead children's worship in the new year.  

We will be sharing Christmas Eve dinner with a couple of other families from our church.  Christmas Day we will enjoy just the four of us being together.   

If I fail to write again soon, I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas!

LYMYWY,

Kara

Moonshine on my shoulders makes me happy!

I'll start by explaining the title.   "Moonshine", aka Kirsten Jones came to Portland for a visit all the way from Charlotte, NC!  She has called me "Sunshine" for years and since one good turn deserves another, I needed to find a suitable moniker for her.  For those of you that know Kirsten, you understand that "Moonshine" fits the bill quite nicely.  While you are catching up on our visit, I have included the John Denver song that I often get serenaded with when I am blessed with a phone call from Mrs. Jones.  Welcome to our world.

She arrived on a rainy Thursday afternoon.  We brought her home, fed her some soup, introduced her to the neighbors (whose children she adores!), and put her down for a nap.  We later went to dinner at Baja Fresh, while the kids were in Awana.  Friday morning was leisurely and after some breakfast and Chai tea, we headed downtown via bus to meet Greg.  We spent the rest of the afternoon trudging up and down NW 23rd Ave, which is packed with cool, trendy stores and restaurants and interesting Portlanders.  We ate a good lunch at Rose's and later enjoyed gelatos and lattes while we slipped out of one store into another.  Kirsten and Sarah Grace got hand massages at some funky soap store.  The smell of the store was so strong Samuel couldn't stand it, but SG was right in her element!

Dark had fallen just after 5:00pm., so we caught our bus back home to Lake Oswego.  We picked up movies and had soup and sandwiches for dinner.  

Saturday we got an earlier start and headed for Multnomah Falls.  Kirsten, Greg and the kids went on the hike up to the top, while I stayed down in the restaurant and did some reading and knitting (I am recovering from some running injuries).  The day started out rainy (as you can tell by the pic), but the sun poked out a bit later when we were headed for Mt. Hood.  Kirsten enjoyed the hike, but in true Moonshine fashion, she got naughty and climbed over the fence onto a cliff at the top of the falls.  Greg got a picture of this as Samuel was making his way over the fence to join Kirsten on the cliff.  I can always count on her to set a good example.  sigh.  

I'm glad there wasn't a park ranger around.

Fortunately, the sun came out and it was around 40 degrees going up Mt. Hood to the Timberline Lodge.  If it had been much colder, I think we would have had trouble getting up even that far, as we did not have chains on the tires.  When we got to the lodge we looked around a bit and let the kids play for a few minutes in the snow.  We couldn't stay long, because we didn't have the proper gear and it was quite a bit colder once we got to the lodge.   Dinner was had at a Gustav's restaurant, back in Portland, that serves mostly German fare.  

Sunday morning we went to church and showed off our Southern friend.  Northwesterners are fascinated with Southerners.  It's kind of cute.  After church we lunched at Players and watched some football while the kids played.  The girls climbed into their beds for naps back at home, while the boys watched TV and played on the computer.  After a walk to the park with Sadie (our neighbor's lab), we went to dinner at the Corbett Fish House in Portland.  They have won various awards for their fish and chips and.....they are gluten free!  They use rice flour, so I can have almost everything on the menu!  It is a very fun, relaxed place with fishing stuff all over the walls and maps and whatnot.  The food is awesome too.  We can't wait to take Kayla and Jason (you guys will LOVE it!).  Anyway, it has been years since I have had fish n' chips and clam chowder soup.  It was a treat!

We hurried home to get the kids into bed and watch "24".  After that, Moonshine still wanted to par-tay, so we went out and got that Untraceable movie that I swore I would never see (I don't like torture scenes).  It actually was pretty cool, because it was filmed in Portland and a whole lot of what you see in the movie, we had just shown Kirsten. 

All in all we had a great time.  Our days were packed with non-stop excursions, but we relaxed at night and enjoyed each other's company as we read to the kids,  chatted and made fun of stuff on TV, movies, etc.  

This morning we bid her farewell at the airport.  We love you and we will miss you Moonshine.  Thank you for coming all the way out here and being our very first guest!  

Who's next?

LYMYWY,

Kara

Yes we can.

The election is over and as much planning as I put into these blog entries (not a lot), I think I can safely say this will be my last political entry.  Since I opened my big mouth last week, it somehow feels irresponsible not to follow up with this entry.  

In short, I am neither surprised or fearful about Barack Obama winning the presidency.  

"Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God."  Romans 13:1

There you have it.  God voted for Barack Obama.  

So is it the Judgment of God, or is it that some of us were wrong about what the best thing for this country is?  Personally, I feel safer leaning towards the "I was wrong" possibility.  That's because I don't like to play God and from everything I read in the Bible....judgement belongs to Him.  I'm just not going there.  I don't think God's judgement can be mistaken for anything other than what it is, so if that's what is coming we will all know.   So let's leave the judging to Him and get on with what our response to this country's problems should be.  

The other day my friend, Paul Smith, sent out an email about what a Christian's response to the election should be starting on Nov. 5th.   The following ideas come from Mark Earley, the president of Prison Fellowship Ministries:

1.  Get involved in the political process....you may even consider for running for office yourself!

2.  Work at a pregnancy care clinic....help young women in crisis pregnancies.

3.  Volunteer in prison, bring the hope of the gospel to those there that need it and help them to transition to life on the 'outside'.

4.  Speak to lawmakers about bringing Biblical principles into the prison system.

5.  Have a monthy fund-raising party and give the money to charities that are working to heal our culture.

6.  Support attorneys that are working to protect the rights of Christians.

7.  Encourage teenagers into leadership positions such as leading Bible study or running for student council,  or mentoring young children.

8.  Donate your time and money.  The example he gave was supporting school choice by holding a pizza party where the proceeds to to a scholarship fund for poor children....even if just one child is helped out of a failing school...it's worth it!

Mark Earley ends with this:  "Besides being fun and worthwhile, these kinds of activities will help you light a candle instead of being tempted just to curse the darkness."

To this I will add that it is our civic duty to support our president.  It is our spiritual duty to pray for him.  I will be praying for Barack Obama to know the leading and guidance of God.  I am going to be praying for his safety and the safety of his family.  I am going to pray that he and his family will get into a good church and be nourished by the truth of God's word.  I will pray that he will be surrounded by good advisors with sound minds and level-headed thinking.  I will pray that he will grow in favor with both God and men.  Israel had leaders for whom these things were true , and so this is how I will pray for our president-elect.

And finally, these words from Jesus,

"You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house.  

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."  Matthew 5: 14-16

Yes we can!

Kara