24

In case you're wondering why I have been absent from the blogging world, I will openly confess that I have once again become addicted to "24". We started watching series 1 last year (yes, we are quite behind the times), but once the prayer room and the internship started in full force, spare time for that fell by the wayside. Now that we're on break again, we've been enjoying some down-time watching the series. It's quite addicting, to be sure. It's been a long time since I've been addicted to a TV series. On second thought, perhaps the first time in my life. But it's admittedly fun and a nice indulgence during break. Not to mention that it's quite 'end of the age' type material, and really gets one thinking about life, death, and eternity. And all that is yet to come. And the need for Living Reality on the inside.

A post-Christmas update (and pictures) will follow eventually.

Making Cookies (Again)

That was then.....


And this is now....

What a little champion!

I'd like to take this opportunity to brag on Taylor. We started potty training this week, and she has caught on so quick. Let's just say, no more dirty diapers for mommy and daddy to change anymore! And no accidents for the last 2 or 3 days! The last couple days she even woke up from her nap dry, and this morning when she woke up, the first thing she said to me was, "Mommy, have to go pee". I very quickly discovered that she had a dry diaper. From overnight. For real. Where did we get this kid from?

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

Preparations are in full swing for Swedish Christmas Eve. It's been a family tradition since I was a kid, my mom being Swedish and all. It's one of those traditions that has lived on, and now Aaron and his family love the Swedish smorgasbord, too. For me, it just wouldn't be Christmas without it. So tomorrow night we'll have cheese and crackers, swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, peas, rice pudding, 2 types of Swedish bread, lingon berries, a jello salad, and swedish ginger cookies for dessert. Doing (our American version of) Swedish Christmas in New Zealand is comparable to making snow angels in the desert sand - it's not quite the same. But believe it or not, it can be done. Yes, Swedish Christmas lives on in New Zealand.

It even has started to feel a bit like Christmas today - probably because I was starting to do some of the cooking for tomorrow. It also helped that it's pretty cold outside - I even saw my breath tonight! Now that really makes it feel a bit more like Christmas! Nevermind the fact that tomrrow it's supposed to be 80.

It's raining, it's pouring.....

'Twas another wet, rainy day today. Good days for staying home to concentrate on potty training (more success today - yeah!). Also good for staying home to bake more Christmas cookies - not that we need any more around here, I can assure you. I think that some of our friends will be fixin' to get a huge plate of cookies in the next several days if the production rate remains steady.

I did, however, leave Taylor and the potty training in the capable hands of her daddy and managed another walk up the mount - in between the raindrops, that is. (Which fortunately weren't as many in number today as compared to yesterday). This mount thing is starting to get a bit addicting. Not a bad thing to get addicted to.

Big Happenings

Lots has transpired since I wrote last....guess I'm well overdue for an update. The first exciting event was the internship graduation. On Friday night we celebrated the completion of yet another season in the lives of the five interns, as well as in the lives of our growing spiritual family here. It's hard to believe that not just one, but two, internships have come and gone. Even harder to believe that the first year of the Tauranga House of Prayer has come to a close. We had a great evening celebration here at our house - thankfully the weather was good (albeit cold once the sun went down), so we were able to have a short program outside. Now that the prayer room is closed for the month, we're really looking forward to a good break!


Dave Cole Speaking at Graduation

Saturday morning the whole family went to the mount - Nic and I went up, and Taylor and Aaron walked around. We enjoyed a nice breakfast at one of the local cafes that is situated right on the water. It was definitely the right way to start our time off!

The last couple days have been cold and rainy - good baking days! Yesterday I made some St. Lucia buns - a Swedish favorite.



Today - despite the rain - I decided to go up the mount again. Good choice - I went up without stopping once - although I wans't liking the rain one bit. I think I'll have to wait for it to dry out a bit before I venture back up.

But the biggest news of all today was Taylor's success at potty training - for the first time ever she peed in the potty! Yeah! She was pretty proud of herself, as we all were, of course. Hopefully the positive trend will continue tomorrow! :-)

Christmas

I have just made myself a cup of (American) hot chocolate with (American) marshmallows.....not because it's cold outside, but because I'm pretending it is. And I'm about to dive into the stash of Christmas cookies, not because I'm hungry, but because it somehow seems that it should be tradition.

I've just put up the Christmas tree and dug the decorations out of the box that I dragged inside only a week ago. But today (or at least, in this moment), I am conquering Scrooge, and the house is beginning to look a bit festive. Taylor had so much fun helping - she was really getting into it! And for that reason, it's all worth it.

Now that the sun has set and darkness has settled in, it's a bit easier to imagine that it's cold outside....maybe even snowing....and that when we wake up in the morning, the world awaiting us will be blanketed in white. Well, that might be pushing it a bit....but it's a nice thought while it lasts.

Time to go work on a song list....tomorrow is our last day in the prayer room until mid-January, and I'm leading intercession at 10am.

Feeling Pretty Lousy

I have changed my self-diagnosis from a severe case of hay fever to a lousy case of a cold. I've had a stuffy nose and have been really tired, so I camped out on the couch all day with a tissue box and a supply of American magazines that Sabrina brought over. I've admittedly indulged myself with more than one nap today, too. I still feel pretty lousy, but I'm hoping that by tomorrow I'll be feeling more like myself.

Up the Mount Again

I am suffering from perhaps the worst allergies I've ever had in my life. Certainly isn't fun; feels like I've been hit by a truck. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be feeling better!

Onto more exciting news for the day, I went up the mount again with Nic. This time I only stopped twice - for only about a minute or less each time. I was quite pleased with the effort, and am hoping to make it a bit more of a regular occurrence in my attempt to add some sort of exercise to my already busy life.

It's been awesome having Sabrina here. We went out shopping this morning with Taylor, went out shopping last night without Taylor, and will no doubt go out shopping again tomorrow. Not that we necessairly buy anything - but it's fun to go and look!

Tomorrow starts the last week of the internship, and the last week of the prayer room until mid-January. I think we all need a break - at least, I know Aaron and I do. It will be so nice to have lots of down-time so that we can (hopefully) go into next year refreshed and ready for whatever comes.

Church

The church that we've been going to here since we arrived is in the midst of some pretty big transition.

We started going to the church because we had a good relationship with the pastor and his wife. Last year he was even in Kansas City for a few days and spent some time at IHOP - and loved it. When we moved here, it was important to us to be in a church where the pastor understood us and was supportive of what we do.

The last few months, they had been talking a lot about transition, and some significant changes to the services, infrastructure of the church, etc. A group of 6 Americans - all young adults - recently moved here to help in that transition process. They have brought a lot to the table, and the pastors have been so open to their ideas and suggestions. It's been really awesome to see that! Aaron and I have enjoyed the services the last couple weeks - I've especially enjoyed the worship, which has gone up quite a few notches.

It's exciting to see what is happening there - and interesting to think about what the Lord might be up to in our city. I'm glad we're part of it.

Cookie Time

After a good morning at the prayer room, I decided to come home and go ahead with the cookie-making plan. I now have close to 7 dozen sugar cookies to show for it - all sealed away in tupperware containers, waiting to be decorated. Don't ask me who's going to eat them all.

Taylor had lots of fun joining in the project, using the cookie cutters to create all sorts of fun shapes....until her attention span ran out. Nevertheless, it was good mother-daughter bonding time.

And concerning my goal to get in the Christmas spirit? I tried really hard. I even put the Christmas music on.....despite the fact that all those melodies brought back memories of our house in Kansas City and winter Christmases and cold and snow - but I managed to keep on listening - until the CD got to track three, "I'll be home for Christmas", at which point I nearly lost it and turned it off for my sake and everyone else's.

My conclusion on the matter? Nice theory. Didn't work. Enough said.

Let the reader understand.

What we did today

This morning, Nana and Grandad and Taylor and I went to the park.....the one with this incredible view. We had lots of fun - Taylor loves having her Nana and Grandad here and enjoyed playing with them and showing off all her favorite tricks!



Anyways, we also drove by the house we used to live in when we first moved here - seems like eons ago that we lived there. And then on the way home, we made a quick stop at the bakery for a sausage roll and custard square.

It still amazes me that we live in such a beautiful place. Too bad it's so far from home.

Tomorrow (if I have the energy) my goal is to produce some Christmas cookies. My theory is that if I do some Christmas baking (and maybe even dig out the Christmas CDs), it will help get me in the mood for Christmas. I'll let you know if it works.

Early Christmas

It was a big day for Taylor today - Nana and Grandad came with suitcases loaded and lots of special treats. They decided to give Taylor a couple of her presents now so they could have several weeks to watch her enjoy them while they're here.

Sabrina is a genius. She figured out how to bring one of these on the airplane - quite a good deal, considering that they can cost up to NZ $200, but only US $50. Taylor had a blast riding around in it all day, and of course giving her stuffed animals rides, too.

Then, after dinner, it was time to set up the trampoline....not a Christmas present per se, but a gift from Nana and Grandad just the same. They actually bought it for Taylor last year to bring in the container, but seeing as how the container came during the fall, we decided to wait until the summer to set it up. Which worked out well, 'cuz that meant they got to be here to help set it up and watch her enjoy it for the first time.

And enjoy she did! Poor girl didn't want to get off when it was time to go inside for bed. I have a feeling its going to provide hours of entertainment this summer, and for many more summers to come.

A Long-Awaited Day

We've been looking forward to today for, oh, probably the last year or so. Sabrina flys in today. Needless to say, we're all excited.

Especially Taylor. All we've heard the last two days is, "Is Nana here yet? When does Nana come? I want to see Nana! Can we go to the airport now? Is Nana's plane here yet?" And on and on and on. Someone's a little excited.

It's going to be a fun month.

Mt. Maunganui

Our last bit of fun for the week was a hike up the mount Saturday morning. Believe it or not, I've lived here almost one year and had never hiked up the mount before. It was a pretty good workout and (borderline) fun - at least, once we got to the top. Here's proof I actually did it:



It's been a great week. Truckloads of fun, but it also has admittedly made me a bit homesick. Hanging out with friends from home can't help but be a vivid glimpse of the life we left behind - that life being one which I still miss very much some days, though it no longer exists how we knew it.

But enough of that. The good news is that Sabrina comes this week. It will be awesome having her here. Then it's time to start thinking about Christmas, which has potential to make me even more homesick. I was thinking today about putting up the Christmas tree.....just don't know if I can do it when it's warm outside and the windows are open. It just seems so, un-Christmas-like. Oh, well. I guess I can't be a Scrooge forever, so I better get used to it. Taylor deserves a Christmas tree and a mom who's (trying to be) into the holiday.

Our Week in Taupo

After Larisa's family went back to the States, we (Jeremy and Larisa, Aaron, Taylor, and I) headed down to Taupo for a few days away. It was so much fun to re-connect with friends from home......just like old times. Taylor was really good, too, which always makes for an easier (and much more enjoyable) vacation! :-)

One of the things we did was take Jeremy and Larisa to Huka Falls - a pretty impressive waterfall located just outside Taupo.






Taylor was slow to warm up to Jeremy this week - but she was quite happy to pose with him for some cute photos.

Going back a few days.....

It's high time for me to update my much-neglected blog. It's been quite the week. There's much to tell and many pictures to show. First of all, back to Thanksgiving. Here's all of us enjoying our New Zealand Thanksgiving.....outside. The food was good, the company even better.





Then, after Thanksgving, the girls went down to Rotorua while the boys went fly fishing. Rotorua is quite the cultural center - here's a picture of the native people (Maori) doing a traditional dance at a Maori village.



We also rode the luge in Rotorua - a go-cart-type-thingie that you ride down a paved course. It was pretty cool - even Taylor thought it was fun!