Christ is born! We are blessed!

So, whether or not or not Christ was born on December 25th (probably not), whether he was born in a manger or a cave, whether there were donkeys and sheep present, His birth and life and death and resurrection are still the GREATEST story ever told! God sent Him to earth, and like it says in the song Hark the Herald Angels Sing, He was "born that man no more may die." This is amazing!

Here are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs that I love to listen to during this season. It is called One Child, and the version I know is by Natalie Grant.

The seed, it grows
and somehow becomes a life
It moves, she knows
that her baby has arrived,
She's so scared, but she's so blessed
She lays down her fear
for the hope at her breast
for she knows...

One million chains could never hold back this moment in time
One thousand dreams could never dream what this moment truly means
Heaven and earth, they cradle the infinite Joy born on this night
For it only takes one Child to forever change the world

He stands beside her,
he'd share her pain
if he only knew how
He whispers 'I love you'
as he gently strokes her brow
He's so scared, but he's so blessed
There's a thundering pride
pounding deep in his chest
For he knows...

Christ is born, we are blessed
Every knee shall bow
and every tongue shall confess
That we know...

This Baby cries
and for the first time
The world hears the voice of God weep
Mary sings a lullaby
As the Hope of the nations
gently falls asleep
She knows this is the one Child
To forever change the world.

some christmas pictures...

MERRY CHRISTMAS all! here are some pics of our day so far, more captions and stories to come later!

our christmas plans

merry christmas eve! i hope you all have a wonderful holiday filled with joy, laughter, family, friends, good food and warm homes. we've got some exciting things planned for our first christmas together:

tom's twizzler straw into my vitamin water. yum.

things started out yesterday when tom brought me my favorite vitamin water (i shared with him, since he shared his favorite strawberry twizzlers with me) on his way home from work for dinner.

during dinner, he told me of his plans to take me to one of my favorite restaurants, mimi's cafe, for breakfast on christmas eve!!

well, we went today, and it was divine! i had some fancy french toast, stuffed with a sweet cream cheese/orange zest mixture and topped with fresh strawberries, blueberries and strawberry syrup. it came with four slices of bacon and two eggs, which i chose to have poached (only the best way to eat eggs). tom had a crab and avocado omelette (which was also scrumptious) and his meal came with a fresh-baked honey-bran muffin (the best muffin EVER).

we came home and played our current favorite card game, casino. this game was new to tom, but he has really gotten the hang of it and has won 3 of the last 4 games we played. the tide has turned. it always happens when i teach him a new game! i win all the time at first, and then he gets really good at strategizing, and i never win again... good thing i am not super-competitive! i just enjoy spending time with tom and playing fun games!

he is at work right now, but he will hopefully get off really early tonight, because we are going out to dinner at our favorite thai place with the family j. pin kaow is amazing! eating at two restaurants in one day is very rare and extravagant for us, but tom said it was a special occasion and justified since we will be cooking all day tomorrow!

since the family j did the main course for thanksgiving, tom and i are in charge tomorrow. tom is preparing a standing roast (should be delicious) and i am making creamed new potatoes with peas and one of my favorite desserts, pretzel salad (this is paula deen's version, mine is a little different because i don't use pineapple and i don't mix the cool whip into the cream cheese mixture, but i spread it on top as a separate layer). becky is in charge of a green salad, rolls, and another dessert.

i think she is making a birthday cake for Jesus with the kids. such a fun tradition. we will eat like royalty when we celebrate the birth of our King!

i can't wait to give my nephew tuff his present! we got him two books (he loves books! even at 16 months!) and a little boy's backpack to put them in. see, his sisters got backpacks a while ago from their aunt s, and tuff loves to wear one in particular around the house all the time when i nanny. the problem is, it is patent-leather black with pink ballet slippers on it. not very manly! especially for a boy named tuff. so we got him one that has dinosaurs and skateboards on it. very masculine.

you'll have to wait until a future blog to find out what i got for tom for christmas (and vice versa)!

christmas decorations!

as tom was just explaining to me just now as we ate dinner, today is what he likes to call christmas adam. you know, the day right before christmas eve... ha ha.

here are some pics of our tree and stockings. tom decided to write his name on his stocking in 550 cord after i told him my plan was to glue and glitter it on. i think it turned out pretty well, and i especially like the cam-green flag on it! also, we got the ornament of a bride and groom at a bazaar about a month ago. it says: tom & deanna- august 16, 2008. LOVE it!

this last picture is of our christmas card wall. these are all the cards we'd gotten as of yesterday. i love getting cards!!!

quick update! a.k.a. vegas snow, gingerbread, and homework.

we have been loving our first holiday season together! granted, we get a tad envious when we hear about the white christmas weather back home, although our family and friends back there seem to be growing restless now. there is something just a little strange about getting ready for Christmas in the sunny, kinda warm weather... although, as you may have heard, our area got a little snow last week. where we live, it did not accumulate at all. but nearby, in north las vegas, i think people got some real measurable amount of the fluffy white stuff.

here are some pics of the snow:

this is a view of the mountains that surround the valley we live in. when they have snow on them (currently it has melted off again) they are so beautiful! i took this photo last week while driving to my sister's.

here is Miss M watching the snow fall outside. notice the lack of accumulation.

you can actually see a couple of flakes in this one!

...so, then, what else have we been up to?

well, most weeks i head over to my sister's 2-3 days a week to nanny for her three kids while she is at work (she is a nurse at the base hospital). this experience has been such a blessing in many ways! i am really enjoying getting to know my nieces and nephew so well. before, when i lived in bellingham/vancouver and they lived in spokane/vegas, i would only get to see them every once in a while. usually they were pretty excited to see me, but initially would be shy at first and need to warm up to me before being comfortable.

now, though, we have such a history together! we are building many memories and i will always treasure this time, and i hope they will too. this last week, we built real gingerbread houses together! my sister actually baked the pieces one night. the next day, the kids and i built the house and decorated some sugar cookies, and the day after that we decorated the house and made a gingerbread man land! it was TOO fun! check it out:

aprons? check. candy and icing? check. holiday cheer? check.

i love them.

Mr. T eating the sprinkles he was supposed to decorate the wreath with.

some of their cookie creations. yum yum.

our finished house. it even had a pond and little men all around it. check out my sister's blog for more pictures.

most days tom comes over at some point to say hi to us when i'm nannying. he is still on night shift, which means he works 4pm-midnight. so if i nanny from 7am-5pm, our little visit at the house is the one of our only chances to hang out that day! we usually play on the playground with the kids- they love tom!

tom has been doing really well in an online math course he is taking! this means that he is doing homework a lot! i'm so proud of him and his hard work towards his bachelor's degree, which he is eventually hoping to get in professional aeronautics. this will aide us in our calling to overseas missions. here is a picture of him doing homework.

work it!

who are you?

note: this pic of tom (taken when he was testing out our camera's waterproof-ability by holding the camera underwater at daybreak park and shooting it upward) has nothing to do with this blog. i just think it's hilarious!

hey! i'm pretty curious these days about who is enjoying my blog... my curiosity has been piqued by the real-time log that i put on here from feedjit (see bottom right hand corner under the map).

so, i thought i'd ask you all to do me a little favor (pretty please)!

did you get a thank-you card recently from tom and i and find the web address on it? if so, i'd love to hear from you so i know if my little advertising ploy worked!*

or...

maybe you were linked to my blog through someone else's?

or...

maybe you don't fall into either category.

whatever way you've found me, i would really appreciate it (and also get a huge kick out of it) if you would leave me a comment* on this post and let me know who you are and what you think of the blog!

*of course, i have to moderate all comments before they are posted. if you write me a comment and would rather i not publish it onto the blog, just let me know in the comment! but please still write one!

**i'm curious about the person who views my blog (and my sister's) from lebanon, or. we are racking our brains but just can't think of who you may be, or who we know that lives there. leave me a comment so our puzzle can be figured out!

THANKS to you all!

pictures from our AZ overnight camping trip/christmas tree hunt, and exciting news about my brother!

i really wanted to post pics from the trip tom and i took up to the mountains in AZ to get our christmas tree... but my sister beat me to it! check it out on her blog's entry from december 3. we camped out there overnight and then the family j joined us the next morning. it was a GRAND time!

also, she posted some exciting news from my brother right before the camping blog... look here. i am so proud of him and what he has accomplished!!

december? already?

well, the mini-pecan tarts were a complete success! i should've made a double batch because between the 6 adults and 2 kiddos (Miss O and Mr T thought they were delicious! but, picky Miss M missed out because she wouldn't try them- oh well, more for us!!), the tarts were gone about an hour after we got to The Family J's house.

You should check out my sister's blog to see some of the fun we had on Thanksgiving. It was such a wonderful time!! We played Monopoly after we ate dessert. I hated that game when I was little because it seemed like it lasted forever, but now I see how it can be fun, even though my sister's father-in-law crushed us all (thanks to someone who sold him a property that allowed him to build hotels... hmmmm...).

Here is the picture I promised of the tarts:

don't they just scream "eat me!!!!!!"?

hard-core tom appreciating their delicousness.

love!

On another note, on Friday Tom and I drove to northern AZ to camp out (in about 14 inches of snow!!) and then get a Christmas tree the next day. It was the best time ever, potentially the first holiday tradition for our new family. I will definitely blog about it soon! Our tree is gorgeous, too!

scrumptious and easy mini pecan tarts!

tomorrow is my favorite holiday! yay! i mostly like it because it has a simple purpose: to get together, give thanks, appreciate each other AND stuff yourself with delicious food! tom and i are blessed-- not only is it our first thanksgiving together, but even though we live a great distance from our hometown, we have family here to celebrate with! we are going to the family j's house. we are not just free-loading, however:

we are in charge of bringing my dad's famous dressing (so good!), sweet potatoes (i found a recipe that involves brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon) and a dessert.

i decided to make mini pecan tarts for our dessert contribution (also something learned from my pops). they are leeeetle tiny pies of pure goodness. and, they are relatively easy and totally delicious, so i'd encourage you to try them out if you need an easy dessert tomorrow or during the holiday season.

recipe:

Mini Pecan Tarts
from: Deanna's dad

servings: makes 24 mini tarts
prep time: about 20 minutes
bake time: 20-25 minutes
preheat your oven to: 350 degrees

ingredients:

shells:
1/2 cup margarine or butter, slightly softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup flour

filling:
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
(i bought a bag of nuts pre-chopped, it saved me a load of time!)

directions:

1. cream shell ingredients together. press into mini pie tins. mine are the little cupcake pans that make little pies about 1 sq. in. in size.

2. mix filling ingredients. pour into shells. i just use a spoon to dish it in the shells.

3. bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

4. remove from pan after cooling for 3 minutes.

5. indulge and enjoy!

i will post a pic of my finished product soon! that is, if we don't eat them all in the next 2 hours or so.

vegas lesson #274: stick with your buddy!

when you need to go shopping at a grocery store other than the commisary, (the commisary is what most air force bases call the grocery store on base. the BX is the mini-mall department type store on our base) TAKE A BUDDY(even though it's a great store, it is often fickle about things it carries. sure, you can find pickled pigs feet and cracklin' oat bran, but good luck finding cook'n'serve butterscotch pudding or dry bread pieces for your thanksgiving dressing). becky and i decided to go to the grocery store right outside of the base. we needed a few things that we could not find at the commisary, so we braved it and met at the large super store.

being cautious, we decided to meet there and park next to each other. it was a good idea.

granted, we've deduced that the area surrounding our gated community (we live on base) is a tad, well, scary/different than we're used to, but as if to prove the fact, the following things happened to us on our 20 minute shopping trip.

1. we are almost certain we heard a no-joke drug deal being made by a gruffy looking guy on his cell phone while he was picking out cantaloupe in the produce area.

2. we witnessed a finger-snapping insult exchange between two ladies in the bread aisle.

3. i was pan-handled in the parking lot.

4. two different groups of people tried to sell us tamales out of the trunks of their cars.

100 days!

today was the 100th day of our marriage! it's been 100 wonderful days of happiness, joy, growth, curry, chess, laughing, singing, cuddling, joy, homemade smoothies, projects, smiling, learning, walking, serving, tickling, playing, discovery, answered prayers, inside jokes, joy and most importantly- LOVE. yup, i know, some of you may have thrown up a little in your mouth reading that. but it's true! i am the most blessed wife in the world, and tom is amazing! i love him with my whole heart and i thank the LORD for each and every moment.

so, in honor of our 100th day, i got Tom some slippers (which i am testing out right now... shhhh... actually, he said i could after he opened the gift). i already have a trusty pair, they were hand-me-downs from my friend paula (thanks, lady!). i'll put up a pic of the two of us in our slippers soon. we need them because it is getting chilly here in vegas and our base house has cold plastic cafeteria flooring.

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!.. even on my blog!

i just couldn't wait any longer! i changed my blog layout to a new holiday themed one, for free! this lovely design was made and offered by my cousin's sister-in-law, shannon. you can get one, too, at her website, eightcrazy designs. LOVE it! Thanks, Shannon!

she also happens to be the designer that created our wedding invitations earlier this year. she was fabulous to work with and the results were beautiful, more perfect than i ever imagined. here is my attempt at posting a photo of the finished results- i wanted to black out our middle and last names and i couldn't figure out how to do it on the original computer document without messing the whole thing up so i took a picture and then edited it in the paint program... needless to say, it ends up loking grainy after all of the conversions, not nearly as wonderful as the real deal, but oh well! i wanted to share it anyway. once again, it was created by shannon, of eightcrazy designs (see above link).




p.s. if you look closely, you can see the school-cafeteria flooring we have in our house! i laid the invite on the floor to take the picture. good thing we both have a pair of slippers now (see 100 days! post) cause this floor gets cold!

memories...

wow, it's been a while since my last post! i am at my sister's house right now nannying, and the little ones are napping so i thought it'd be fun to post some pics from her computer of tom and i, from the very beginning! the one up above is our first picture together (awwwww!), at the grand canyon. the next is also from our trip there (brrr!), and then there's one of us playing the great dalmuti, and another of us with my two siblings and their spouses. enjoy!

oh, and p.s.-- you should follow the link on the left side of my page to my sister's blog- she posted some of the beautiful new family photos the family j just had taken. i am such a proud auntie!

While I'm Waiting...

The Lord has brought this song to my attention a lot over the last month, and I have found it to be encouraging and pertinent, in my life, my walk, our world. Thought I'd share the lyrics.

While I'm Waiting

by: John Waller

I'm waiting

I'm waiting on You, Lord

And I am hopeful

I'm waiting on You, Lord

Though it is painful

But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident

Taking every step in obedience

While I'm waiting I will serve You

While I'm waiting I will worship

While I'm waiting I will not faint

I'll be running the race

Even while I wait

I'm waiting

I'm waiting on You, Lord

And I am peaceful

I'm waiting on You, Lord

Though it's not easy

But faithfully, I will wait

Yes, I will wait

I will serve You while I'm waiting

I will worship while I'm waiting

I will serve You while I'm waiting

I will worship while I'm waiting

I will serve you while I'm waiting

I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Even the rocks cry out!

We went on a hike at Red Rock Canyon on Saturday with most of The Family J. Becky couldn't come, but we managed to survive out in the wilderness. I was impressed with God's glorious creation!

My two-year-old niece Miss O took this pic of Tom and I. She's got a knack for photos, I think!

The girlies and Mr. Tom, as they lovingly refer to him.

In remembrance of my Grandpa Jerry!... and some other random things.

My beloved Grandpa Jerry died last Saturday at the age of 93. I loved him very dearly. And this picture is just the epitome of him- he always looked stellar, with pressed shirts and bolo ties! This photo of us is from about three years ago, which is unfortunately the last time I saw him not living in a nursing home. He had been in one for 16 months before he died. I feel very blessed that Tom was able to meet him-- twice! Once, in June, we stopped by the nursing home he was staying in. It always seems a little grim in those places, and it hurt my heart to see him look so weak and frail. When I first introduced Tom as my fiance and told him that we would be marrying in August, Grandpa looked at Tom with an amazed expression. "Oh, really?" he said. "Well, Tom, you're getting a good girl. A real good girl. I always thought she'd turn out to be an old maid!" We all burst out laughing at that one- it was just like Grandpa to lighten the mood with his jokes! I'll definitely miss him!

On a completely different note, here are a few things I've been learning while nannying for The Family J, complete with picture diagrams.

#1. When you can't find your almost 3 year old niece anywhere, and you have to bribe her with a snack to get her to make her location known, she is probably in her mom and dad's room, with the door closed. And she is probably not "just cleaning it up," like she hollers to you. She is actually probably doing her own make-up, emo-style. And not only is she applying makeup to highlight her blue eyes, she is also decorating her knees. And putting perfumed lotion on. That's all.

#2. Costco should NEVER have changed the shape of their gallon milk jugs. Even 25 year old college graduates simply cannot pour the dang things without spilling milk everywhere except where they intended it to go. It happens every time, folks, every time. I think it has something to do with the weird slope/dip before the opening. It is most certainly NOT operator error.

P.S. I looked up the weird jugs so I could put a pic of one on here. And I found this. This picture is a LIE. Not as easy at it looks, I promise. I bet you this is an altered photo. It has to be!


The website I found this photo on is called the dieline. And get this, it says that, "apparently consumers may need some re-education about how to most effectively pour from these new jugs... The pouring issue is significant enough that many retailers (including Sam's Club, Costco, and Walmart) are giving demos." Hilarious. And proof that I am not the only one.

addendum to my post from yesterday

to see a prayer you might pray for our country and senator obama, visit my cousin's blog called life outside the city limits.

a must read!

i have been getting annoyed lately at the number of my friends who push their political views on facebook. i've felt like saying: "hey, listen, why don't you go spout your opinion where it actually counts, you know, on your ballot." i didn't think i would get involved-- i believe that my political opinions are just that: mine!

however, i came across an article today that is a must read! of course, read it if you choose to. but please know that it comes highly recommended! let me tell you a little bit of why i am posting it on my blog:

i am and always have been pro-life. i believe that life begins at conception. GOD, Himself, says so in His word.

well, even being the extremely pro-life person that i am, i too became intrigued with sen. obama about four years ago when he spoke at the democratic national convention. i bought one of his books. it was very interesting, he has a way with words. as a result of the book and MANY other influences in the liberal city i was living in, i found my political views growing more liberal as my time in college grew, although i was still VERY pro-life. i found it almost easy to make my Christian views coincide with the liberal agenda (i've learned, now, that they generally do not!).

about a year ago, when barack obama became more of a national figure, i even considered that he may be a great choice for president! after all, it was hard not to get wrapped up in his eloquence, excitement and "vision."

i even went and saw him speak in portland, and shook his hand! thrilling, indeed...

but something wasn't right... that night, in the convention center, he didn't mention his extreme pro-abortion stance. this last wednesday night at the final debate, he dismissed that he is pro-abortion... because, who would be?

i always knew that my pro-life stance was not in cohorts with his views, but how EXTREMELY and FUNDAMENTALLY different our stances are is made clear in this article. please read if you are at all curious as to what stance senator obama actually takes. click the link below:

Robert George article: this man is a professor at Princeton, you can read on the article about his education and smarts and see that he a legitimate resource.

home sweet home!

we love our house! it's more spacious than we imagined, its got cute old-style character, it's just for own little family, and it has lots of storage (tom is very excited to use one of the bedrooms as a storage room- we didn't get a house with a garage but this very well might be almost as good. he's got his tools, camping/survival gear, surfboards, snowboard, etc. in there). thank you Lord, for the roof above our heads!

i've been on a huge organizing kick (praise Jesus for the energy to do this, and the fact that i actually really like this kind of projects) while tom has been working really hard both inside and out. he discovered we actually have a sprinkler system that looked like it hadn't been used in a long time- but he fixed it and it works!

here are some pics of some of the rooms that are set-up so far...

**notice the aqua tile--it covers the floor and goes halfway up the wall. under normal conditions this would have made me puke a little in my mouth, but no! it matches the decor we already had that was chocolate brown/tealish-aqua. hallelujah!

these leather (possibly pleather? or vinyl...) armchairs were a mere $25 at the outdoor rec center on base. apparently when the air force hotels remodel, they give them the stuff to sell for cheap. who knew? anyway, they work perfectly for us. AND, our good friend shawn found that lovely black armoir thing on the side of the road. FREE.

oh yeah, and the celebrate our first real meal in the new house.... drumroll please!...

my AMAZING husband made sushi for us. YES, real sushi, with the sticky rice, salmon, seaweed, wasabi, and everything. he's cool like that. i'm blessed, i know! all i did was make the sweet rice topped with mango and coconut milk for dessert.

DELICIOUS!

roll it!

the whole set up. there was some pretty amazing teriyaki chicken as well.

the sushi was so divine, it had me all delirious so i was trying to eat imaginary stuff when it was gone...

movin'!

tom and i are moving to our very own base house today! this is so exciting! please pray for our quick and efficient relocation and for the Lord to bless our first home together. may it be a place of love, peace, and growth together in Him. Amen!

Tom's b-day, our base house, and milkshakes!

we celebrated our first birthday together last week! tom, older than me by a mere 8 months, had his special day. we celebrated by going out to a special breakfast at black bear diner, just husband and wife (their 7-grain almond pancakes are amazing), and wandering around the bass pro shop (it is super cool in there! and tom got a piece to fix his sling shot). then, The Family J prepared us a super dinner of carne asada (sp?), homemade guacomole, and some brews. Then we enjoyed the cake my neices and i had made. it was tons of fun!

we are slated to move into our very own base house at the end of next week! although its an old house, it's OURS and we couldn't be more excited!! God is so faithful to us! we chose this one versus the other one because it has a real tree and rose bushes in the front, it is 3 bedrooms instead of two, and it has a grassy front and back yard!! Very cool for Vegas, where the norm is palm trees and gravel.

and finally, today while i was nannying for my nieces and nephew, we made our snack together. chocolate-peanut-butter milkshakes. mmm-hmm. very healthy, i know! we had fun and they loved them. the proof is in the pictures.