holiday frolic

On the Eve of Christmas Eve we galavanted over to the Heights church where we've been attending for a year and a half.  It's the second year that Justin Unger has taken on the feet of creating a winter wonderland with lights, decor...and arranging all other festive muses.  Last year it was only on Christmas Eve.  So, we had the family fun of my mom and Andrea's family here.  However, this year it was for two nights which was brilliant considering the crowds.  Twenty minute candle light services in 30 minute increments from 6pm-9pm, I must say, is another brilliant set up.  I would've liked to catch the light show coriographed with music on video....However, I'm not sure it would've done it's spectacular-ness justice.  The line for the hayride was surprisingly long, but worth the hour+ wait.  It was beautifully put together with the narration of the Christmas story.  Had I been more timely in getting out there it wouldn't have been so difficult to partake of it all.  In order to soak it all in, families really do need to plan on attending both nights and get there at least an hour earlier before the "open".  Will there be the opportunity next year?  It all depends on what the Lord has planned.

the chocolate factory tent

I had the hardest time trying to figure out the best camera setting for this night shot.  In any case, it was nice to have carolers singing out there amongst the crowd as we all socialized with coffee, hot cocoa and cookies.  Incredible ambience.

This is how one can know the limitations of their camera even if it is 12 megapixel....it's still not yet quite as clear as you hope it'd turn out to be in the dark.....

the arch leading to the path towards the cross

Looking back from the cross

What fun when much to our surprise the entire Moffit family was there!  We were hoping to see some of the girls, but we didn't know their parents would be there as well.  Poor Mav was too miserable to indulge us with a smile.  I couldn't quite figure out what he was trying to ask me.....

It was so beautifully lit all the way up to the cross with music playing......

love this gorgeously monstrous metal cross...

keeping the hot beverages going

in the Kid's ministry building were ornament crafting tables set up ......

Tori was so patiently meticulous

Mav wanted Michael to make his

Sierra's

Michael took it a bit too religiously......

wild iris

I went to meet Anne Wiggins for the first time.  Mike had been doing spots for her parenting classes,  which she holds at the Heights Church, for quite some time.  He's also been bringing up her name with strong suggestion that we have much in common with our appreciation for the natural approach to health improvement and child discipline.  Finally, after Mike brought home a loaf of homemade bread from her, it was apparent that the time to connect with this seemingly supermom was long overdue.  She accepted my FB friend request, and from that point on we were learning more about the other via status posts and a few interactions here and there.   A few months later we agreed that the afternoon of December 22nd was perfect while her daughter partook in seasonal crafting at the Prescott Library.  With the kids home from school, I ended up spending the day with Michael at the station except for that 1 1/2 hrs. with Anne.  So, down to the Prescott square I made my way to the street nook where the Wild Iris sits in it's humble corner......

Not having eaten yet for the day, I took the safe route and chose not to indulge in any extravagantly sweet flavored liquid of burned beans and the large pieces of coffee cake that seemed to be trying to lure me with unspeakable temptation with their lusciously perfect appearance.  Just a nice hot cup of joe would do....and it sure did for that cold and rainy afternoon.

The table of varying sugars had it's sutble countryfide reminders of just exactly where you are and adding to the rustic ambience........

Even the cement floors were characterized with the aged appearance  from all the gouges, scratches, cracks and  chipped purple paint.  

We talked we two.  We talked as if time was standing still.  The list of subjects we covered was that of typical women passionate about being moms, what we do and what/where God's plans reveal for us and our families.    The apparent commonality is how young we are often mistaken to be by strangers either by voice and/or appearance.  With the 40's immediately around the corner, it's becoming more of an appreciation.  

This could be an incredible friendship.

another Filipino birthday party 12-12-2010

After the sushi lunch.........

It's the little one's first birthday.  She's a doll and everyone's been invited to join the celebration.  It's in the cutest quaint little Chino Valley house.  Perfect for a beautiful family of four.  Ronnie and Jenny apparently transferred from the Visayas to the tri-city area with their job at the nursing home.  His chortling statement, "so we're very loyal and we have been loyal for"...I think he said something like six years.  Maybe it was eight.  Yet, I'm pretty sure the number given was six.  I ask how it's been after the move.  Has life been better or no different.  I'm having difficulty finding the right words to better articulate.  But Maricar understandably pipes in informing me that a day's worth of pay here is like a month's pay back home.  Wow, I've been definitely enlightened and relieved/happy for Ronnie and Jenny.  The cute and well seasonally decorated house is packed.  Aida and Chris are naturally socializing amongst the crowd of beautiful fellow Filipinos and the few American spouses that take delight in such great company.  Per customary, Jenny's cooked a feast well dressed on the table of island cuisine.  We're here to enjoy it all as we stuff our maws with such delectable nostalgics of home.  We sing Happy Birthday as Ronnie rolls tape.  The sweet birthday bundle dressed in red has the same look as any other one year old.  Maybe the party is more for the adults than it is the birthday girl.  After all, we're the only ones that understand why we're all gathered together.  And she's the curious spectator.  Cute.  A las, after a while the karaoke is turned on and we're all butchering the rhythm, lyrics and tune.  But who really cares?  It's all about having fun as we have had at all other parties.  Ronnie catches on camera the dancing Divas [Aida and Juliet] as I sneeze through one song. Aida and Juliet never fail to crack me up with their exuberant display of what fun should be.  Maricar, towards the end of the night, makes plans for a get together the day after Christmas.  Forgetting that I'll be back on the Hcg by then, I quickly agree.

It was a great night....

check out my silly Sierra (^_^)

vital Christmas ambience

It was the last Vital Moms for the year and our social muster of great mothers was abuzz with table decorating and catered food displaying.  My earlier morning fluster of having forgotten the coffee/tea mug for the gift  exchange was quickly remedied with a quick trip to Wal-mart for a more colorful replacement.  It had not deterred my punctual arrival so as to be able to assist with the children's check ins.  Phew.  It is truly delightful to be one of the first to see moms proudly toting their beautiful children into the building.  Some were well dressed for the celebratory season with the appropriate colors: boys itty-bittedly well representing mom's taste for quality seasonal masculine attire and little girls primly staged with their silky smooth curly ribboned tails adorning their pates.  And then there was my more casually groomed Maverick who was timidly comfortable with yet another "class room" social gathering amogst his mini peers. 

The sanctuary was completely decked with seasonal embellishments which included thousands of stringed miniature low lightings.  The celebratory ambience was fabulously YUM to say the very least.  Heart and eye candy to every in-house reveler.

Joyous applause to Michelle Smith [our greeter] for doing and stupendous job of keeping the jibber jabbering crowd gently nudged along within the the morning's buzzing agenda of used toy exchanging, gift exchanging, crafts display, maw stuffing, new mom/baby recognitions[s]....etc.  Her genuinely positive and gentle spirit is an incredible asset in helping all busy social-hungry moms feeling loved, appreciated and safe.  This is an environment that can easily propagate cliques [which conflicts with the purpose of VM].  However, her God-guided warm spirit appears to have a way of keeping that snuffed.

ants in my pants...oy!

The more we talk about a trip out to Manila in May the more antsy I gets to buy those plane tickets.  That seems to be the only way to confirm, without any lurid shadow of a doubt, that a flight out over the Pacific and to my home islands is truly on the anxiously awaited horizon.  Mike has gone ahead and made mention of it to Raymond and Ron.  Naturally, they responded with delight.  However, it makes me more nervous.

I've already mentioned it to mom so she can be planning to come out to hang with the kids for those couple weeks.  She spilled the beans to them just two days ago while taking them to the mall.  Because we haven't been officially anouncing the venture to any local social lights the boys will hopefully heed to my call to keep silent.

We were at Ben and Jeannie's the night before for desert and coffee so they could be sure to get some visit in with mom.  As tempting as it was to spill the beans then we refrained.  We had razzleberry, pumpkin and apple pie with ice cream.  I've never had razzleberry before.  Good gracious, that pastry was copacetic!  It had been a year or two since we had dinner or dessert with them.  It was nice to visit.  

Wycliffe Banquet

Last night was nice.....VERY nice.  Mike had gotten us tickets for the Wycliffe banquet that apparently only happens every 18 months in Prescott [held at the Prescott Resort].  This was an Associate banquet where participants are presented with the opportunity to volunteer in one of the many legs helping the translators on the field who are working with great sacrificial delight to create an alphabet and put into words unwritten languages all over the world.  With videos we were all given an in depth view of what Wycliffe Bible translation is about and how just as important volunteers are in supporting fields of sorts.  None of the information was new to me, as this is the mission legacy I grew up in. It was fun seeing video clips of   familiar places in the Philippines, to hear my people talk of the impact of having God's Word in their language (in their  Filipino accent) and see familiar missionary faces from my childhood still working in the Philippines.  However, the most intriguing part was the new innovations being used as technology continues to evolve.  

It's always fun to sit at a well dressed table.  

Dori was hungry and that salad (of a big wedge of iceberg lettuce, blue cheese, bacon and ranch) was calling her name

I was looking forward to the coffee which didn't get offered until after the main course

So, obviously, it was intended to go with desert which stared at us almost the entire evening

The rolls were divinely warm, soft and light....

and oh so perfect with butter....

If to escape self-inflicted embarrassment, I would've asked for several baskets more

Mom was the table missionary celebrity.  This was the nice new young pastoral couple from the Covenant church just up the street and they were very much engaged in conversation with mom about her work and their love for Wycliffe.  Funny how you can meet people of mutual friends in these type of settings....friends working around the world.  

I didn't hear the entire conversations, but it was obviously all good.  Being one of two Wycliffe members in the room, she was later given the mic and asked to share where and how she has served the past 40 years.

Should've inquired as to what the heavenly sauce was so luciously draped over the chicken.  It was divine.

Mike and I really like wild rice....we were copaceticly happy.

Michael shared his testimony of how he came to Christ.  It was very interesting how his personality fit like  hand and glove with his desire to learn linguistics and be lead to a group of people that was so lost they literally lived and died by each other's swords.  Thus, the result of him taking in two teenage village girls who's father was killed (followed shortly thereafter by their mother).  Both of the girls have given him grand kids and he's been living among the people for over 12 years devoted to getting their language translated so they can read the Bible.  

Michael, an American, seemed so uncomfortable as if to feel out of place in his own country.  This is something that only fellow field missionaries can possibly fathom.  For they themselves have experienced the luxury of adapting to an overseas culture and meeting the locals at a heart level that is so foreign to the American culture and society.  I know, I'm an overseas missionary kid myself.  Not to carp on America in the least.  But having experienced the culture shock of coming back to America, I could see and feel it in his demeanor on so many levels.  I'm sure being oceans apart from his wife and family of four kids and two grand kids made it even more difficult.

There are still thousands of  people groups who's languages are not put on paper, written or translated.  Wycliffe needs the help of all that hear the call.