Christmas is upon us

The Christmas feeling is definitely upon us. Snow storms and sub zero temperatures are forecast from Sunday onwards.
Jess met Santa Claus (we're going American on his name so as not to confuse Jess, she has a hard enough time with Shelley and I alternating between: diaper/ nappy; trash/ rubbish; sneakers/ trainers).
Course deadlines are fast approaching.
And my driving test is Wednesday afternoon. I passed my theory test on Monday with questions such as:
How do you know if someone is vision impaired? a) they wear dark glasses, b) they have small devices in their ears, c) they are walking with a guide dog.
Naturally I got this one wrong.

My friend Derek will be in the back of the car for the test, as you need a chaparone, and the examiner is a police officer, and I'm more nervous of getting the giggles than messing up on a maneouvre. Derek owes me several embarrassing or awkward comments after I let a fart machine off next to him in the library.

God bless

andy

Thanksgiving

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had last Thursday. We spent it with our friends Ben and Amanda McCoy (and their two boys: Josiah and Seth), and some Korean friends Dae I and Jung Ha (and their two children: Joonah and 'little man'). The McCoys cooked a huge turkey and all the traditional trimmings, such as Sweet Potato and pecan bake, stuffing, mashed potato etc. We provided the dessert pies and I had a go at making Yorkshire Puddings, and didn't do too badly for someone from Cambridge.

We were told that it is traditional to eat as much as you could, so I shocked our hosts with how much I ate. They were literally still talking about it on Saturday, and other people have approached me, commenting on how much they heard I ate. Those that know me, know I'm not a big fan of food, and so was clearly eating for cultural assimilation purposes only.

I had to go to our flat and change into some jogging bottoms mid way through the evening, not just to be more comfortable, but also because I split them when bending down to pick up Jess.

Jess had a lovely time terrorizing all the other kids, and seems to know exactly the best time to play up to inflict maximum awkwardness.

The day after Thanksgiving is the traditional time to put up decorations, and we had a lovely time doing this on Friday morning. Jess put the star on top and Shelley was the key designer, whilst my job was the lights. Such teamwork. It was great fun sharing the experience with Jess and she was really excited. Our apartment looks nice and cost now. The tree is certainly better than the 1foot one we had last year, which is now in Jess' room.

As unlikely as it may seem, this photo wasn't staged, but was how we found Jessica watching tv before she went to bed. She obviously needed some space of her own.....
The finished result.

I did three hours study on Saturday, but all in all in was a lovely and relaxing 4 days off, before the mayhem of the final 3 weeks of term. I also have a driving test (theory and actual) to take before the 16th December. The pressure is definitely on as Shelley passed both of hers first time, and if I fail one, I will never be able to comment on her driving again from the passenger seat. This will be terrible by all accounts.

Let me know how things are in your lives, God bless,

Andy

Valley of Vision

How wonderful it is to stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. One of my favourite Puritan Prayers:

The Valley of Vision

LORD, HIGH AND HOLY, MEEK AND LOWLY,
you have brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see you in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold your glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter your stars shine;
Let me find your light in my darkness,
your life in my death,
your joy in my sorrow,
your grace in my sin,
your riches in my poverty,
your glory in my valley.

How to use your first Reading Week, October 2007.

Take a holiday. All American diner, Chicago. You've gotta love the calories and saturated fats....