O night divine

The in-law holiday scheduling that almost every married couple inevitably goes through has worked out fine for us thus far, though having kids will surely complicate matters. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Michigan with my family since the Barton's whole family was just in town for our wedding, and then we'll join my family tonight for Christmas Eve for dinner and opening presents at midnight (as has been the tradition for as long as I can remember) after church, then fly out tomorrow on Christmas Day for a long weekend in Champaign, IL to spend time with the rest of the McLaughlins'. So many holiday traditions are ingrained in people since their childhood, so they are often hard to break, and I already think about what kinds we will instill in our own family.

This year I really only shopped for our niece & nephew, sister Aimee and a couple of other friends and co-workers, and we tried to make charitable donations for the rest. Last year the Barton & I had decided to make donations of the person's choice in lieu of Christmas gifts, and this year with everything going on in our economy we simply couldn't justify changing that, and we kept it local (Mosaic Youth Theatre & Detroit Rescue Mission). We also decided to increase our support to several friends called to service via mission trips to other countries, and as a gift to the Barton's sister Allison & husband Abe, their choice was World Vision, where you can sponsor a child or help a family with basic needs like water or a goat. Lastly, for our gift to both our parents and my sister Debbie & brother-in-law Romel we pitched in to send money to family members back in the Philippines (I really shouldn't take credit for this, as it was my mom's idea :).

Before I set out on cooking some dishes for tonight and some last minute present-wrapping, here's my final thought on the hype that has come to define Christmas. A nearby church had the line from Joy to the World on their marquee sign outside "Let every heart prepare Him room", simple and poignant yet for some reason it brought me near tears. It goes back to a message our pastor recently gave, that perhaps because we busy ourselves with doing things that are the "right" things, but in doing so we've often put aside the true goal. The line in the song is a sweet reference to Christ's coming, but in my selfishness I do a little gut check and wonder if there is adequate room in my heart if that happened today?!? Eek, I certainly hope so. But even in my daily life, is there room in my heart for life's happinesses and disappointments, family, friends and my faith?

I work every day, albeit harder at times than at others, towards to ability to say yes.

Merry Christmas, dear friends, may your hearts prepare Him room.

Celebrating the D

We kicked off the holiday season in style these last few weekends with four different events in Detroit. They left me with such warm fuzzies that I had to share so you could join in the festive fun next year!First on the docket was Noel Night http://www.detroitmidtown.com/05/noelnight.php, a fantastic evening in the cultural center area that features shopping, performances, carriage rides and free admission to over 30 institutions. The crowd favorite is ending the evening with a group sing-a-long of Christmas carols led by the Salvation Army band. Besides our layers of clothes that night for warmth we were aided by our full bellies after a great barbecue dinner at Slow's http://slowsbarbq.com/ for our friend Kim's birthday. And to our fellow suburbanites, I promise you that it is indeed worth the trip!

Next on the calendar was the opening performance of the internationally acclaimed Mosaic Youth Theatre http://www.mosaicdetroit.org/ , who had a weekend of shows called Woodward Wonderland, and I have to tell you that it was so much better than the Radio City Rockettes Christmas show we saw a few weeks back! Fueled by the premise of youth leadership through the arts (and the sad fact that 70% of Detroit Public Schools do not have music or arts programs), the 11-18 yr olds in the vocal & theatre groups truly blew me away by their homegrown talent. Move over American Idol! I bet even one of their stories would be more interesting than one of those silly teens that rollerskates into the audition room of that show. But I'm a sucker and will still watch it, so let's move on. The next day I left the hubby at home sick and joined a small group of volunteers at our church to support the efforts of Central Detroit Christian http://www.centraldetroitchristian.org/ , a faith-based organization who needed help at their annual Pride for Parents store that allowed moms & dads to holiday shop for their families. Basically these were garage sale prices, but all the items were brand new (and are donations)! What a fantastic idea.

Then this past weekend was our last opportunity to volunteer at the Detroit Rescue Mission http://www.drmm.org/, an organization that turns 100 in 2009, a wonderful testament to their service to the homeless and needy. We've been helping serve dinner monthly for the last couple of years, and our church will continue to serve there in different capacities like facility work and in the medical clinic, but there was a touch of sadness that it was our last time in the kitchen wearing those lovely hairnets :). (Jodi - in the spirit of your indulgent kindness we served up several Christmas cookies to each person, though this was mostly due to the fact that Sarah decided that she alone would bake 9 dozen!)

So, yes, Virginia, there is a Christmas, just as real as the joy in discovering the million points of light in the seemingly dark city of Detroit, if you're willing to open your mind & heart to it.

Reflecting on all these events makes me hope that we can all take pause this Christmas season to find the real spirit of family & faith in each of the things we do this holiday season (but of course even as I type this I am making mental notes about all the last-minute items I need to pick up at Target today!). What do you say, friends? Let's make the effort together.

Counting Down to Christmas

There are only six more days until Christmas. When I was a kid, we counted down the days until Christmas on an advent calendar my mom had sewed. We got a small candy cane each day until Christmas, except for my birthday, when I got a large candy cane. Today, this same advent calendar is hanging up in our condo.

Christmas is filled with these sorts of traditions, and I think our Christmas decorations to a large degree help to tell the story of our lives. In our house we've got the Christmas tree we bought together last year, and on that tree hangs ornaments that I received as gifts from my grandparents 30 years ago, an ornament I made in kindergarten (complete with a hilarious picture), elephants, a small John Deere 9400T Series Tractor, ornaments Liv made at a pottery painting night with the girls, a gift box with pictures of our niece and nephew and their cousin Sophie, the US Senate Christmas ornament from 1997. Hanging nearby is a star made of sea shells. Sitting on the mantle is a nativity scene. Sitting on a nearby table is an ornament Liv painted for 2008 - our first Christmas together.

And what a wonderful Christmas season it is.

Sisters

Some of my girlfriends are having some really tough weeks, some of the toughest in their lives. And thinking of how I and others can best serve them makes me so grateful of how many loving and generous friends that I have to count on, in good times and bad. Don't get me wrong, I love how my husband supports me, and I am fortunate to have had some great male friends over the years, but nothing is quite like having steady "sisters" alongside in the walk of life. Whether by blood, extended family, shared circumstances, travel buddies, old friends and new; these women are there to lean on when you are weak, stand beside you when you seek fortitude, back you up when you could use extra strength, and serve you when you don't even realize you need help. Hopefully we all have some of these - those we see and talk to regularly, and those who live miles away or you haven't talked to in months/years but you know you could call in the middle of the night if you truly needed too.

I sure do hope that men also experience this in their friends with a sense of brotherhood, but in any case, mad love to all my lady friends/sistas!

* To Jen, Jojo, Steph - I petition for you in prayer, may you find the strength to be uplifted in God's love in your times of need.

**To my older sister Debbie, happy birthday tomorrow!! May you be blessed with many more years to enjoy with your precious family.

Labor of love

Today I dropped off my first meal since joining our church meals team, who delivers meals to our church families in need due to illness, new baby etc. I liked the concept not only because I like to cook, but because it gave me a kind of nostalgic vision of church ladies stirring big pots of food and then delivering them in baskets. Granted, it was more like me rushing through making dinner last night even though it was my hubby's birthday (he has technically already celebrated over two dinners so far, with another tonight and on Sunday, just so you don't think I'm a bad wifey!) so that I could cook another meal, and then slipping and sliding up the driveway today with a paper bag and foil pan in hand, but still you catch my drift!

I remember my friend Claudia and I were once talking about how both of our mothers put homecooked meals on the dinner table every night for our families, in addition to hosting numerous parties and get-togethers over many years. Truly nothing short of a labor of love. I'll always have those memories (plus a few extra pounds to show for it!) of gathering around a table chock full of steaming dishes. I'll probably come to an even greater appreciation of this once we start our own family, but for now, kiss a cook today!

The Barton was born this day

Today marks the birthday of my favorite person! He is a serving husband to me, a loyal friend to many, and a loving uncle, son & brother.

My random piece of advice today is to my beloved single girlfriends - marry your best friend. Even though we've only been married for 2 1/2 months, I've already had little flashes of my life in 5, 10, 25, 50 years and it has made me believe that there is no other option. My hope for us is not just that our faith in God and love for each other would sustain our marriage, but that we would grow in appreciation for one another and that our relationship will reach greater heights through the good times & bad. That we would remember how we can say & do anything in each other's presence, how we sing silly songs at home, can laugh together at stupid shows & movies, bow our heads in prayer when we sit down to dinner, and after a long day sit around and simply share our work woes, or talk about politics, religion, sports, current events. Sometimes I pretend to gripe about my constant discoveries about how much smarter he is than me, but the reality is that I secretly love it! I'm a pretty competitive person in most things that I do, and when we were dating I was complaining to my friend Karin about how he could easily beat me at word/board games and she said "Wow, you must really love him!". So, yeah, it turns out I really do :).

Happy birthday, dear. I'm sorry you're feeling under the weather today, but know that I am so thankful for you, and I wish for many, many more healthy years with you to come. Love you!

A beautiful life

[Pictures of my hubby's handiwork: Laundry shelf (yay!), new Crate & Barrel shelves 1 & 2, engagement/wedding pictures and pics from the D hung with care. And our tree.!]

My friend Jordon commented earlier this week that her perception was that I was so busy she didn't know when I found time to eat and sleep, which of course was an exaggeration (especially to those of you who have kids to run around after!). However I guess I do pride myself on weekly management of a full schedule of a 45-50 hour work week, time with family & friends, keeping my house in relative order, running to the gym or on errands - but even then I have little twinges of guilt because I want to equally devote to my new marriage, but my hubby is awesome and he makes it as easy for me as possible. Bless his heart, he probably figured out long ago that I have a tendency to obsessively fill in scheduling holes as if they'd be snatched away from me if I don't! And thank goodness for my Comcast DVRs :). But I can't imagine what life will be like when we start having kids, I must admit that I'm more than a little bit afraid of what balls may fall out of my juggling act, but God-willing we'll figure out what to do when we get there.

All that said, I didn't take the time to blog for Thanksgiving, because I was actually too busy enjoying my time off of work! After the hustle & bustle of cooking/eating/shopping/visiting friends in town that took place Wednesday-Friday, I had a great Saturday with the Barton, we really took advantage of the rare weekend day where we had no plans or other obligations. We parted ways just in the morning when I went to a yoga class and he retrieved Christmas decorations out of storage, then after lunch we did some stuff around the house (see pics), then hit up the cider mill and grocery store in the afternoon before a nice dinner to celebrate our 2-month wedding anniversary and trimming our first joint Christmas tree. Good times.

So post-Thanksgiving, I'll still take the time to say thanks for being a part of my blessed life, my cup runneth over.....!