from all of us to all of you...

A day in Mexico

Every year YS holds an amazing, crazy, and beyond expectation Christmas Party for their staff. This year was no exception. In fact, this year it wasn't even held in the United States. Youth Specialties partnered with a ministry called Spectrum. Spectrum Ministries is a missions organization dedicated to working with the very poor across our border in Tijuana. Each YS employee was given a name and wish list of a child in an orphanage. So after a a morning of shopping at a Tijuana Market for the dinner to be cooked at the orphanage that night, and playing with the kids at another ministry Spectrum organizes, we headed to the orphanage and were able to present the students with their individual gifts.

It seriously was such a precious moment. Imagine Christmas morning at your house. Everyone gathered in the living room. One person is designated to pass out the gifts. When someone gets their gifts, everyone in the room waits patiently to see what that person got. There are a few oohhs and ahhhs and then the next person opens their gifts.

Now imagine about 20 or so kids crammed in a living room with the YS adults surrounding the edge of the room waiting the kids to open their gifts. When each of the kids name is called, everyone sits and waits eagerly for the child to open their present. When they open it, there are not "oohhs and ahhs", but loud cheers and hollars from every single person in the room as the child proudly hold their gift in the air. It was a celebration and such a sweet moment.

Each of these kids had a different story. Each of these kids had a hard start in this life and yet they were some of the sweetest, kindest, most adorable, and polite kids we ever met. It will truly be a day that we will never forget,

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

So this post is a little over due considering we started decorating the day after Thanksgiving. This was partially due to our love of the Christmas Season and partially due to Christina's competitive spirit. We woke up late that day and began watching some TV when Christina noticed outside that our new neighbor's ten year old daughter was putting out Christmas Lights. Christina yells, "What?? Ian, she is beating us! GO! GO! GO!" In an hour and a half we had all all of the Christmas decorations out and Ian had the lights up.

This weekend though, we got our tree. This is earliest we have gotten one since we have been married. So it is complete. Christmas is here! We may not have been first, but we added an extra strand of lights for good measure:) 'Tis the season!

I know she's big...but really?

So I get it. We have a large dog. I understand that comes with picking out a a great dane. I understand that she is is tall and can reach the kitchen table so guard your plate. I understand that she is big and so I don't have to bend down to pet her. These are all things I expected when we got her. But what happens when she uses her size to get our attention? When a normal dog wants to play, they drop their toy at your feet. When Darby wants your attention, she stands in front of the TV and COMPLETELY blocks it with her body. Then when you tell her to move she just cocks her head as if to say, "What?" The first time we thought to be a coincidence. A year and a half later, we know it's a conspiracy.

Pause for the moment...

While I was cooking dinner tonight, I glanced out the window. I was absolutely amazed at the sight right outside our kitchen window! Isn't it crazy to think of the beauty that is around us even when we aren't looking. Then again, the moments when we do stop and admire God's creation, become a personal moment with our creator.

THANKFUL TO BE HOME...

We're back from our last convention and what a note to end on. Atlanta was AMAZING! It was a great convention, attended by great people, and it is just a great city we can't wait to go back and visit. Below is a picture from our hotel room.



It was such a blessing to be able to go to all conventions together but it is also nice to be home together.

As far as Thanksgiving Day, it was another wonderful day of stuffing ourselves. After weeks of processed food, it was nice to have two home-cooked feasts in one day. Yep, two! We went to Christina's family first. Then rested and went to the movies with her sister and saw "Martian Child." A good movie with a sweet story line. Then we headed off to Ian's grandparents house where we enjoyed another feast with more family.

It was such a wonderful way to come back home. They say, "Home is where your family is." We agree.

"Meet Me in St. Louis..."

Well, we made it home from the convention in St. Louis. Two down, one to go. In fact, we are heading out to Atlanta tomorrow morning.

St. Louis was great though. There are a lot of sights to see. Christina was thrilled when she found out that she could walk to the Mighty Mississippi. That was exactly what we did on one of our dinner breaks. We ate at a nice little Italian Restaurant and then walked half way across a bridge that would have taken us to Illinois. This was the plan but we needed to get to the next general session on time, so we took the picture above and headed back to the convention center.

There really is a lot in St. Louis; the great arch (which is in the background of the picture), the new Cardinal's Stadium, the Might Mississippi...tons I tell ya!

It is fascinating that as you move across the country it is natural for people to work in one state and live in another. This is something this Southern Californian can't fathom. That is why the walk to Illinois seemed so outrageous. Christina wanted to come back and say, "I went to Illinois for dinner. I am back now, here in Missouri." Instead, the conversation went more into bragging rights that we walked half way across the Mississippi.

The Convention itself was fantastic. One of the interesting speakers for the week was Ralph Winter. He is the producer of the X-Men and Fantastic 4 movies. He gave an incredible talk about the power of story telling. He challenged the youth workers tell the story in new ways. Do not settle for how it has been told so many other times. One of the examples he gave was to give missionaries video cameras. Let them tell their story not just though an interview in front of the pulpit. Instead, have someone in the church edit the footage and allow what the missionaries do tell their story. It was also great to hear from a man that is doing amazing work in Hollywood today while living a life of integrity and passion for God.

So...in 12 hours we will be on a plane to Atlanta. Who knows what Georgia has for us, but we'll let you know in a week!