The Countdown

Twenty more days until departure.....it's seems amazing that in less than three weeks, I will be on American soil. Wow; I can't wait! The next few weeks will be full for us, right up until we leave. It will be a tricky balance between staying "present" here, while also preparing for the trip home.

Thanksgiving was a great success ~ I'll post some pictures as soon as I get them downloaded onto my computer. I love being able to prepare (and eat!) all the traditional foods and keep the tradition alive, not only for my sake, but especially for Taylor, too. Nevermind the fact it was the hottest Thanksgiving I've had in my life. It was about 86 degrees ~ the hottest day on record in Tauranga for whole month of November. Holidays in the southern hemisphere still seem strange to me. Gotta say, I'm going to be lovin' the cold winter Christmas!!

Marshmallows

We found' em. Marshmallows in New Zealand with the same texture as the American ones. Granted, the taste is slightly different, as is the shape, but they certainly pass. With flying colors. I have yet to roast them, but I have a hunch they'd be about as good as their American cousins.

This discovery, as grand as it is, unfortunately doesn't meet the need for American mini marshmallows, so a brief word to my personal importers (you know who you are!): there will still remain occasional orders for the goods you so faithfully send. :-)

With that said, now I can sleep. Goodnight.

Thanksgiving Countdown

Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching, and I can't wait. The holiday will be celebrated in full style this year, regardless of the fact that we live on the other side of the world. The good thing about Thanksgiving in New Zealand is that with the exception of a couple imported items, all the necessary ingredients can easily be found here, so no delicacies will be missing from the table. To be fair, I do have to confess that although most ingredients can be found here, they are not necessairly as inexpensive as their American counterparts. Take our $80 turkey, for example. Yes, my American friends. You read that right. $80 for a turkey. No exaggeration. Let's just pray I don't overcook the thing. I also have to say that Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix doesn't exist here, so I'll be making my own from scratch. Good thing I've made it a few times and have a bit of practice under my belt. Can't be ruining the stuffing on Thanksgiving. It's one of the most important parts. And all the other usuals will be present ~ mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole (with the imported mini marshmallows on top), homemade macaroni and cheese (an addition to the menu from our Canadian friend), green bean casserole, corn, rolls, and cranberry relish. Oh, and the making its debut to our Thanksgiving menu - baked brie and crackers as an appetizer. The dessert menu is just as good - pumpkin pie, apple pie, cheesecake with a gingersnap crust and cranberry sauce on top, and Watergate salad (affectionately known as the "green stuff" to the attendees of our occasional cookouts). Wow. It promises to be a good feed. Did I mention we are going to postpone the celebration a few days until Sunday? The unfortunate aspect of living in a foreign country is that life proceeds as normal even on American holidays, so we're waiting for our day off so we can enjoy a day-long celebration.

Another fun aspect of celebrating Thanksgiving in a foreign country is the opportunity to educate Taylor on the American tradition. It's always fun to get her Thanksgiving books out of storage this time of year and read about what the first Thanksgiving was all about, and how and why we celebrate it today. We've also had lots of fun this year doing Thanksgiving-related craft projects. We made hand-print Turkeys, and then moved on to making a big turkey to which we attached paper-cut-out feathers on which I wrote things that Taylor told me she was thankful for. And today, we started making a paper-plate pilgrim. Her attention span ran out mid-project, so I'm hoping we can finish it tomorrow. I'm also looking forward to starting the pre-Thanksgiving baking with her ~ ya know, all the seasonal goodies that have to be made this time of year, but are just too much to eat all on Thanksgiving: pumpkin cookies, cranberry muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake squares, and other yummy cranberry desserts. Okay, some of those will have to wait until after Thanksgiving, but hey, it sure is worth the wait!

In case you hadn't figured it out by now, we take our Thanksgiving seriously around here!!

Birthday celebration

Nic had a birthday this past week, and because Aaron was away in Christchurch, we had a "girls only" Mexican fiesta-themed party. It was lots of fun, great food and good times. Here are a few of the photos:

The five of us girls, with (virgin) pina coladas in hand.

Note: Photography by Miss Taylor Walsh. Pretty good with a camera for a 3-year old, eh?

What's a Mexican Fiesta without a pinata?

"Nicky Bear" and "Taylor Bear' Cakes....


...And Fondue for dessert

Okay, so the fondue isn't exactly Mexican, but that's beside the point. It sure did taste good.
Happy Birthday, Nixsy!

Strawberries and Asparagus

This is a great time of year in New Zealand when it comes to fresh produce. Two of my most favorite fruits/veggies abound this time of year, and we are eating in abundance before all too soon these delicacies will slowly vanish from the shelves as the summer progresses. I'm convinced that New Zealand strawberries are sweeter and tastier than their American counterparts. They certainly do make for some good strawberry and rhubarb crumble, strawberry shortcake, strawberries with waffles and whipped cream.....

This past week's adventures

What a week it has been! Aaron got back from Aussie last Friday night, and we've been enjoying the week together before he leaves tonighit to head to Oxford (Christchurch) for the week.

One of the big events of this past week was a family trip to Auckland for a very special reason ~ Aaron had lasik surgery on one of his eyes. Before heading up there, they weren't even 100% sure they would be able to do the surgery, so we were pleased to find out they were able to, and even more pleased that it went well with no complications. Now Aaron can almost see 20/20 with his eye that previously he was barely able to see anything out of at all. Pretty amazing, I have to admit.

This morning has dawned a bright and clear sunny day; it promises to be a nice day off with the family. On the menu for brunch today? Waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. Yummy!!!

Brooke Report

Brooke Fraser was incredible last night. That girl sure does have pipes, and her band was tight, too. One of the things I liked about it was that although she was not overtly religious in her speech, there was such an evident anointing of the Holy Spirit present. She has really done well to be so successful in the secular market when her songs and lifestyle are so evidently Christian. Another thing that I really, really enjoyed was listening to and watching her band. It's always fun to watch talented musicians play live; definitely brings musicial inspiration.

Tomorrow night I drive up to Auckland late, late, late to pick up my hubby, who's been in Australia this past week. Although I'm not necessairly looking forward to the late night drive, I am absolutely looking forward to seeing him again, so it's definitely worth it!

Girl's Night Out

In a few minutes, the girls of the house (minus Taylor) are headed off to a Brooke Fraser concert. It's the first concert I've been to since I went to see Five Iron Frenzy when I was about 16. My, how times have changed.

Livin' it up in the limelight

Rumor has it that the "6 stunning Tauranga girls" were the talk of the morning on the radio. Little do they all know one of the six is a 3 year old!

Not one, but two moments of fame

So yesterday during our World Series, my sis-in-law emailed the commentators for the World Series, because they take emails during the game from fans watching throughout the US and the world. Occasionally, they read the emails that come in, answering questions, and the like. No mention was made of our email yesterday.....but today, they read the email that Nic sent in:

6 stunning girls are cheering The Rockies on from Tauranga, New Zealand. We are rooting for Jeremy Affeldt! We are wearing purple wigs and have decorated our den purple and black! GO THE ROCKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The hot dogs have come off the grill! 3 Americans, 1 canadian and 2 kiwis watching Baseball!

I thought it was pretty cool that our humble little world series party was mentioned on the world-wide telecast of World Series game #4. As if that's not enough of a claim to fame, on our national news tonight, they played the highlight of the game during which the commentators were reading the email from the "6 stunning girls from Tauranga, New Zealand", proving the point that the World Series truly is a world-wide event.

As for the Rockies, well, that's a sad loss. But hey, no one even would have guessed they would be playing in the World Series to begin with, so despite the loss, there really is reason to celebrate an amazing accomplishment of a talented team. Go Rockies!!

World Series Party

Aaron left yesterday to go to Australia for the week, so us girls decided we should invite some other girls over for a little baseball action. Nevermind the fact that our beloved Rockies are struggling this series; it was no-holding-back when it came to loyalty and support from these devoted fans! The pictures say it all......

The girls - plus Dayna, the photographer for this photo

The food. What's a baseball game without hot dogs and nachos.....

...and signs?!

Baseball cupcakes...

No holding back on the decorations, either.

Our smallest fan - dressed in her Rockies purple, of course!!

Piano Practice

One of the things I have been trying to become somewhat diligent at recently is regular* piano and vocal practice. Tonight I was messing around on Dayna's electric piano, and figured out something ~ and I think that the "something" I figured out is something I've been trying to figure out for a long time, but never was able to. Not that it's that profound or especially tricky or anything. I've just never messed around long enough to be able to allow my fingers to do what I hear in my mind. (Remember, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Sometimes painfully obvious things still take me a while to figure out). I love that point of breakthrough, when the revelation comes and a whole new world of experience is opened up. It makes the long hours of seemingly worthless labor completely worth it.

Something true not only of music, but also of prayer.



*Regular - That is, as often as is allowed within the constrains of life as a wife, mom, etc. Not to be confused with "daily", lest I present an exaggerated perception of my self-imposed disciplines.

A potpourri of un-related thoughts

It is a profound statement of the obvious when I say that I have yet again fallen off the blogging wagon. It may not be so obvious to many of you that this is not the only proverbial wagon I have fallen off. The other two I'm thinking of are namely the "healthy-eating wagon" (apple danish, anyone?) and the "email wagon" (if you are one of the ones who has emailed me and has yet to receive a reply, you will know if which I speak. My apologies). I have come to the conclusion in recent days that of all the, say, 10 things I aim to do on a regular basis (maintain my life in God, maintain relationships both with family and friends, exercise, practice piano, practice voice, keep up on housework, etc. etc. etc. - to name but a few), it is virtually impossible to remain diligent with 100% of them 100% of the time. If any of you out there have figured out how to do this, I beg of you, please leave a comment and tell me how.

Now, for two completely un-related thoughts to give you insight into my musings of the morning.

First, I was pondering the two hours yesterday during which my team and I sang through Revelation 4 at the House of Prayer. It wasn't until the last verse that I was struck with a new understanding - or, perhaps I should say, the blunt realization of my lack of understanding. In Revelation 5, Jesus the Son is declared worthy because He was slain and redeemed mankind to God by His blood. This is logical. (Note that perceiving something as logical is not the same thing as having revelation. In fact, I think that logical things are the hardest to gain revelation about, because we think that we know what it all means, but we really have no idea whatsoever). Anyways, this is why Jesus is declared as worthy in Revelation 5. In Revelation 4, God the Father is declared to be worthy because He created. I mean, this is something I've known and sung about many times, but yesterday for the first time I saw the declaration of the Father's worth alongside the declaration of Jesus' worth, and it just didn't seem so logical to me that being slain and redeeming fallen humans is on the same level as creation when it comes to the reasons for God being worthy. Somehow, in the economy of God, creation is up there with the cross when the elders and living creatures sing of His worthiness. That's pretty stunning. I think (rather, know) that I have a lack of revelation on the magnitude of what it means for God to be the Creator. This also, then, means that evolution is not just a false teaching, but a direct attack against the worthiness of God. Hmmm.

Second thought for the morning - certainly not as profound as the first thought. I opened my window today, and it smelled like an early morning summer's day in Maine. In a moment, memories flooded back to me of family vacations in houses on lakes in the backwoods of Maine - and of course, eating lobster on the docks near the seashore.....need I say more?? Never mind the fact it will be winter when we go home. America, here we come!!

The ministry of intercession

I thoroughly enjoyed my morning in the prayer room. Most days, I find intercession prayer meetings to be work, and I leave tired and feeling drained. Today, however, was one of those prayer meetings that left my spirit feeling alive and invigorated and in love. It's a wonderful thing to leave a prayer meeting feeling like that. During the prayer meeting, I was struck with the glory of the ministry of intercession. We get to stand in a room with a company of people, and say back to God what He tells us to say to Him, and somehow He moves, angels and demons shift, and things happen on the earth. It really is glorious that we serve a God who has chosen to not act in a vacuum, but to move and act in partnership with His people. Maybe, just maybe, today there was a young woman in our city who decided against having an abortion and a tiny baby will have the opportunity to live. Maybe today there was a believer in our city who was given an extra measure of strength and might in their spirit. Maybe today, somewhere in our city, there was a little boy or girl who was saved from the evil of child abuse. Oh, the priviledge and honor to lift our voice on behalf of those who have no voice and cry out for mercy. I gotta say, I love what we get to do.

Those Rockies aren't done yet

Where have the days gone? The week is just about half gone already (not to mention the fact that October is already half gone, and the year almost done. How did that happen??). Anyways, what got me started on that is the realization that it's been a few days since I've posted; my apologies.

Our week off was wonderful - long, lazy days that were a good mix of both restful and productive, but all too soon it was time to get back into the normal routine of life. I will say, though, that the last couple days have been great and the only bodily sign of rebellion against the normal schedule is a fair bit of sleepiness in the morning when it's been time to get the day going. It is no secret that I have set my sights on the long-awaited journey we will be departing on almost exactly two months from now (and the long break that comes with it). I am more than excited to go home; now that couldn't come soon enough.

But before I get too far ahead of myself, there is still much to enjoy in the glorious month of Rocktober. Nevermind the fact that we are half a world away, we are joining the celebrations in Denver in spirit. Baseball fans are baseball fans, no matter where on the planet they are located. Yes, the Rockies are going to the World Series! They completed the series sweep against the Diamondbacks today, winning 21 of their last 22 games. I still can't believe they're going to the World Series; it's just too good to be true. This is a great day for Rockies fans, to be sure.

A bit of a moan

It's been a while since I've had a good whine on my blog. Figured now's as good a time as any, especially since I've decided I'm officially feeling homesick. I've been thinking of home quite a bit the last few weeks. Probably has to do with the fact that our trip Stateside is on the horizon, yea, rapidly approaching, and I'm more than ready to go. Might also have something to do with an on-the-whim idea for me to head east for a weekend on my own and have a couple days with my parents in my hometown. Can't wait. Nothin' like goin' back to your roots. Oh, and did I mention the New York style pizza and canolis from the Italian bakery awaiting me when I get there?

At any rate, I miss CT, I miss Kansas City. I miss family, I miss friends. BBQ and baseball. Shopping and snow. Thunderstorms and Target. Fall and favorite foods. The list goes on. But I'll stop here. 'Nuf said.

In response to the comment about my lack of comment about the All Blacks...

I deem it wisdom at this point in my budding career as a sports writer and analyst to concentrate my efforts on the sports (er, um, sport) about which I am both passionate and possessing of at least a small bit of knowledge about the game. Rugby does not qualify. On either point.

I shall therefore remain silent about the All Black's tragic loss this past weekend, except to say that all members of my immediate family have taken the news surprisingly well.

Playoffs and Break

Well, the Rockies are headed to the NLCS (National League Champtionship Series), a best of 7 series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. If we win that series, then it's off to the World Series for the Colorado team. We swept the Philadelphia Phillies in 3 games, as did the Diamondbacks against the Chicago Cubs. The NLCS promises to be some good baseball. This is perhaps the funnest October of my entire life.

This week is our mid-internship break, during which we have also closed the prayer room, so we are enjoying some much needed R&R. Breaks are always an intersting thing, as the option always exists ~ be productive or do nothing? For someone like me who has a very difficult time sitting still for an extended period of time, the "productive" option usually wins. This is not always a good thing. One of the things in life I am still learning is how I "rest" best; what those things are that I can do that serve not only to provide rest for my body, but also keep my spirit alive in the process. Oh, yeah. And I guess having fun should be included somewhere in there, too.

Too bad for us that the NLCS doesn't start until Friday (New Zealand time), at which point our break is almost over. If anyone is wondering where I'll be next week, wonder no more.......

Not another post about baseball.....

There is only one place I'll be tomorrow at 8am. In our living room in front of our TV, watching the Rockies play the Phillies in game two of the NLDS. Broadcast LIVE in New Zealand. This is the first Rockies game all season we've been able to watch on TV here. That, combined with the fact that it's a playoff game, means I've never before been so excited to watch a baseball game on TV. Can't wait!

"W" is for Win

The Rockies got one when they needed it the most - in 13 agonazing innings of play. I thought yesterday's game was a nail-biter....nothing like today's. To make a really long story short, the score was tied 6-6 going into the 13th inning. San Diego hit a 2-run homer in the top of the 13th, and at that point, I though it was over. But the game wasn't over for the Rockies. After a double, and then an RBI double, an RBI triple, and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 13th, they managed to squeeze out a 9-8 victory over San Diego. This secured the NL Wild Card title and they head to Philly in a couple days to play the first game of the NLDS. This is huge!! First time the Rockies have gone to the post-seaon since 1995. The best part about it for us is that most of the postseason games are broadcast live on TV here, so we get to watch the games for real, all the way on the other side of the world. How incredible is this?!