Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Better late than never! I guess I've taken a Christmas break, of sorts, from the blog. For more pictures check our our winkflash link below...

http://jasoncaroline.winkflash.com/

Rynn and a neighborhood snowman- first snow in Portland on Christmas in 70 years.

Nana is here!

Jason learns to knit AND completes a scarf.

Grammy and Pops are here for Christmas!

Pops in rare form

Our friend Anna gets attacked by some floor monkeys.

Breakfast out with Nana


a visit to the Parkers

Hope Presbyterian's Advent Service

Thank you to all our friends and family who prayed for Hope Presbyterian's first Advent Service. It was a wonderful evening with many more people than we expected! Gathering together outside of our homes with music, the Lord's Supper, and a sermon was exciting and gave us hope (no pun intended) for things to come.

Muscians practicing...

Rynn eyes Anna Roach on the way downstairs to the kids program led by singer/songwriter Dana Dirksen.

The whole family- caught on camera!!

Our own Chef Berkeley of Sydney's Cafe prepares some savory treats for after the service.


Is that a heavenly glow over Pat and Jason's heads?

Sugar (Mary Roach) and Spice (you know who) -the bow in her hair lasted about 30 seconds.

Light Shines in the Darkness

Running through our neighborhood this morning I found my thoughts drifting toward the subject of light. I found myself anxiously awaiting December 21st, the Winter's Solstice, when the days will no longer be getting darker but rather bringing a few more moments of light with each one. I've never really been aware of the Winter's Solstice, or cared enough to wait for its arrival, until moving to Portland. Living here I have felt the dimming light of the winter days. I've watched the sun desperately try to peek its head above our next door neighbor's roof as it makes its low arc across the southern window of our house. I've felt the sleepiness that three o'clock brings as though it were almost time to prepare for bed. Running and watching the sun struggle to rise only to stop short of its summer height, I began to feel a physical yearning for light and an excitement that the Solstice was not far away. And then I thought about Christmas, and how appropriate it suddenly seemed that the season of Winter's Solstice, in which the return of light is celebrated, was chosen by the church to remember and celebrate God entering the world in human flesh- light piercing the darkness. In Genesis 1 God pierces "the darkness that was over the face of the deep" with the words "Let there be light." The promise of the coming Savior, the hope of all men, is fulfilled as John records in his Gospel, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made..in Him was life, and the life was the LIGHT of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:1-5). Israel yearned for their Savior. The church now yearns for his return when "night will be no more. They will need no lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light" (Rev. 22:5). We celebrate the Word being made flesh and dwelling among us. Light shining in the darkness. This is our hope.

And for any of you out there looking for Christmas present ideas...a sun lamp might be a nice choice.

Houses (Gingerbread, that is) and Headlines

Jason as the ghost of Christmas Past

(No, he hasn't left the ministry for a traveling actor's guild, but rather he is just sporting his new kayaking fleece changing dress-made by the ever so talented Oma- so he can strip off his wet undies by the river and no one will see his bum)

Are you sure these aren't for eating, Daddy?
Life in the Little clan has been full this week. Fortunately, I found a quick moment to read the front page of our Sunday paper, The Oregonian, where I found great enlightenment from the following FRONTPAGE headline. No joke.

KILLERS HOOKED ON CROCHETING AS 'SMALL PART' OF ATONEMENT...Convicted killers in state prisons find meaning in a plastic crochet hook. "This is just a small part of not being a jerk my whole life," says Rivas, who is serving a life sentence for killing an ice cream man. And later in the article, "I've taken from society," says Holloway who murdered three men, "this is my effort to give back. It's good to know I'm balancing the scales a little bit."

Did you know a crochet hook could wield such power? And they say Knitting is Knotty...

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Price of:

Three gallons of gas to drive to Mollala, OR to pick up a stranded Jason: $9.45

Two MacDonald's Happy Meals along the way: $6

One TEN FOOT tall Noble Fir: $35

Chance to make fun of Jason for dropping his car keys into a whitewater river: Priceless

A tired mommy. A tired, grumpy two year old who finally falls asleep. The feeling of relief as silence descends upon the house and I can sit with my cup of tea and new found knitting hobby. The dread as the phone rings, and Jason says, "uh, caroline, can you, uh, come get me down here in Mollala? My keys fell out of a hole in my pocket while portaging my kayak around this really nasty strainer."

"Are you kidding?, " I reply in disbelief. "Wake up Eleanor, pick up Rynn, and drive down to get you?." I mean, how far does a wife's love go??? After gathering my thoughts, I realized that Jason could indeed wait a few hours for Eleanor to wake up, for Rynn to finish her school day, and for us to make the journey down to retrieve our wet river rat. As mild irritation brewed to the surface it occured to me, "Hey, why not turn this into an adventure and get our Christmas tree!." Oregon, after all, is the birthplace for most of the nation's Christmas trees. So, it was with great excitement that we stopped on the side of the road and bought a TEN foot tall tree for a mere $35 from a kind man with no teeth. There are some advantages to living in an evergreen state....and to losing your keys in whitewater.

Knitting is Knotty

I am woefully not crafty. I can't make things. Or perhaps it isn't that I can't make things, it is just that I can always find something else that might take my time. So, I was a bit timid when I was asked to join the "Craft Summit," a gathering of six incredibly talented women to work on their various crafts at the Oregon coast. Laurie (see October's entry Green) convinced me that I was not hopeless, and that even I could learn to knit. So, two days, several glasses of wine, lots of relaxing, coffee, and food later I can proudly boast ten knit rows (haven't learned to pearl yet) of my first ever scarf. And despite the knots, the curses, and my ten thumbs I left quite inspired. Perhaps it was watching hurricane strength winds blow the waves of the Pacific, perhaps it was being around such creative, smart, dynamic, and interesting women, perhaps it was conquering my knit stitch that left me inspired. I now know all the best thrift stores in Portland, that it really is better to reuse and recycle, and that there are some incredible people who have chosen this damp, mossy place to call home. One of the things I really love about Portland is that it has some soul, that people would rather have that thrill of discovery at the thrift store than go to the mall (I admit, I haven't been so Portlandized as to not enjoy a mall trip!), that they would rather buy something handmade and local, and that there are people who believe that even me can learn to knit. Which, let's be honest, is a great leap of faith. Enjoy the pics of where we stayed, the view from the window when the sun came out for two minutes, and follow the links below to see some fellow crafters wares.

view from the loft...crafters at work...

Christina's site for cool things (purses, bibs, scarves..)

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5018174&order=&section_id=&page=1

Shannon's metal jewelry..

www.indievolve.com/metal

Jessica's jewelry..

http://www.jewelrybyjessica.com/

Laurie (organizer extraordinaire) working on her quilt.

Waiting for chocolate chip cookies? No...that was later. These anxious crafters were watching Jessica 'bake' her jewelry in the oven.