2015 Christmas Letter

 

I feel as though we are still finding our groove as a family of five. In many ways we are in survival mode, learning how to juggle the needs of a loud, feisty, six year old; an appearance preoccupied four year old and a curious but destructive sixteen month old. Our house is perpetually a disaster and generally quite loud. From time to time Nathaniel gently shoves me out the door so I don't completely  loose my mind. That being said, we are thankful, satisfied and rich in the things that really matter.

 One of the highlights of our year, was going to Esperanza's spring family camp. Amelia learned how to kayak and we saw a pod of orcas swim through the channel.  I loved watching the girls help out in the kitchen the way Nate and I did more than a decade ago as camp counselors.  This summer we  took a few epic camping trips with friends to Tofino, Malcolm island and Hornby island. We also thoroughly enjoyed  spending many sundrenched hours on our finished deck.  The pergola, combined with second hand furniture, a tepee, and a hammock, made it feel like an extension of our home.

The owner of the property where Nathaniel keeps his hives, gave a us a small plot of land to plant a garden and the girls and I have enjoyed harvesting green beans, heirloom tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and piles of kale. Nathaniel has seven bee hives now  and managed to harvest and sell over 100 pounds of honey this spring. He just created a business called Honey Badger Bee-keeping and is importing a semi commercial  honey spinner from China. When it arrives, he will spin out the 300lbs he harvested in August. That is a whole lotta honey!!!  In September he went on another caribou hunt with a friend. They both got a caribou! Nathaniel applied to the mountain bike unit this fall and found out that he will be starting in January.  The change in schedule and pace will be good for our family.

I am finally a DONA certified doula and looking forward to supporting women in labor in the new year. I also got a chance to take a course at my church called "from creation to the cross" and finally turned the blog that we kept when we traveled around the world into a photo book. I went to Whistler with some girlfriends and competed in a fun event called Mudderella. It was the first time I had left Levi for more than an hour and it was WONDERFUL! Nate did a good job of keeping all three children alive.

While Nate was on paternity leave, we huffed and puffed through Gillian Michaels DVD workouts after we put the children to bed. Once and awhile we attempted to run with two jogging strollers, but it almost always resulted in a great deal of crying.  Needless to say, neither of us saw any significant weight loss until Nathaniel  returned to work in April. Go figure. I recently started weight lifting and I am enjoying it immensely. I love feeling strong and being able to do push-ups and hopefully soon -chin ups.

Amelia's highlights this year include catching a wild bunny and becoming a spark. She still spends every available minute outdoors and continues to amaze us with her creativity. Claire took her first ballet class this year and performed at the port theatre this spring. It was pretty darn cute. She continues to have strong opinions about her apparel and loves all things sparkly and beautiful.  Levi is running, climbing and currently, wiping his nose on the couch. We adore him and the completeness he has brought our family. We pray that this letter finds you happy and healthy! Have a great Christmas!

Love, (Nathaniel, Jocelyn, Amelia, Claire & Levi)

Christmas Spirit

The other day my eldest daughter asked me "mom, what is Christmas spirit"? In the days that followed, I found myself lingering on that question and pondering it in my own heart. I like what Dan Schaeffer had to say about it:

 

"One Christmas I read a newspaper article written by a reporter who had been searching for the meaning of “the Christmas spirit.” When he concluded his quest, he rated this answer as the best: “It’s in your heart. It feels warm and glowy. You can’t buy it, and you can’t get it from anybody else.” That’s the popular concept of “the Christmas spirit”—it’s inside us. We just have to “get” it. So, does it hit when we unpack our decorations and start playing Christmas music? Does it require a Christmas tree? One strand of lights? Two? Is it more presents? Or does it come down to out-dazzling our neighbors with a bigger outdoor display? 

 

I decided to re-read the Christmas story in the Bible. I wanted to study the reaction of those shepherds—working the night shift!—who were the first people to get the news of the birth of Baby Jesus. After seeing him, we’re told that they returned to their sheep “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:8-20).

 

Now shepherds in those days weren’t the gentle, soft-spoken fellows that greeting cards portray. More likely they were rough-cut and hardy. When the Bible says they were glorifying and praising God, it’s describing something like the last second of a playoff game when the home team wins, and the whooping and hollering cut loose! That was likely the only kind of “glorifying” they knew how to do…and they were awestruck!

 

Christ’s birth, enthusiastically celebrated by hard-working shepherds, changed everything! That baby was the living proof that God really did love the world so much “that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

 

And that baby brings us back to the question, “What is the Christmas spirit?” I believe it’s a deep-seated joy in knowing that the story of the Christ Child is gloriously true! Many will celebrate Christmas this year, experience gifts and excitement, but never connect the celebration with the reason for it. They’re like people at a wedding reception who celebrate enthusiastically, but don’t even know the bride and groom!

 

That’s the difference between those who really have the Christmas spirit and those who don’t. For those who have it, you could remove the trees, lights, presents, food, and music, and their joy would still be intact! That’s because the story of God coming to Earth as a baby is true, and they’ve come to personally know the Christ who was born in a manger!"

 

Christmas, as we know it today, is a far cry from it's humble beginnings. A tale of two terrified teenagers huddling in a cave, the hosts of heaven holding their breath in anticipation.  An underdog, born to two Jewish teenagers, in a cave, surrounded by dirty hay and noisy livestock. Not sanitary or idyllic. And yet, this fragile, innocent baby was the hope for all mankind. Sometimes I can't help but think, "really God, was that the best idea you could come up with"?

 

Nevertheless, nothing moves my soul than singing "Oh holy night" and thinking about how God humbled himself, became flesh and dwelt among his beloved creation. It's mind blowing, heart melting and leaves me in wonder. Honestly, my favorite part about Christmas is the Christmas Eve service. I love singing robust Christmas Carols with other people, often with tears of joy streaming down my cheeks.

Sometimes I try and fathom Christmas without Jesus. A Christmas entirely based on Coca Cola "Santa Clause", presents under the tree, and all the different traditions that our society and cultural have created. As much and I LOVE decorating, and images like the one below made my heart swoon, they are like eating stale bread when cheesecake is being served.  Christmas is ABOUT SO MUCH MORE!

 

Oh, we have been given the most mazing gift. Let's not loose sight of it in the chaos or the beauty of this season. Listening to  Chris Tomlin's new Christmas Album "Adore" helps me keep my heart and my priorities in the right place. Check it out HERE on spotify web player. My favorite song on the album is "He shall reign forever more (live)". So good!

Sometimes I need to remind myself

Sometimes I just need to remind myself that my children are only small for a season. That in the grand scheme of life, "those early years" are just flicker in time. The other day I watched my eldest dance in a Christmas play at our church and found myself recalling the days when she refused to sleep, destroyed people's house plants and tried to hurl herself down a flight of stairs. Now she uses words like "appropriate", can fry her own eggs, creates beautiful things and sleeps like a tank. I HAVE remind myself that Levi will eventually eat food on his own, stop falling off chairs and sleep through the night, otherwise I will go BONKERS. AS much as I love his hugs, sounds, and sweet little body, the "early years" challenge my sanity.

 

Fitness Friday: Tools for sucess!

 

It is so encouraging to see progress, even if it is at a glacial pace. My core feels and looks stronger, my arms are starting to have definition, my legs are visibly leaner and more defined and clothing that has been collecting dust in the recesses of my closet for the past year and half, finally fit me again.

 

For this addition of "Fitness Friday" I thought I would share a few of the things that are helping me loose weight and build muscle.

 

1. Using tools that set me up for success

 

My digital food scale and a set of good measuring cups not only help me eat appropriate serving sizes but also helps me keep track of my macronutrients, micronutrients and calories. Right now I am using my fitbit app to keep track of caloric consumption but in the past I have used sparkpeople, which I also loved. The one thing I loved about spark people was how you could customize your nutritional goals. You can track everything from  how much iron you are ingesting to healthy fats. It lets you know what your diet is deficient in and what you are consuming too much of.  Right now I am I using the fit bit dashboard app to track my caloric intake since I purchased a fit bit charge this summer. I love how it keeps track of how many steps I have taken, my heart rate, stairs climbed, and calories I have burned throughout the day. Having good music to work out to makes a huge difference and lately I have been enjoying making playlists with spotify. I have already expounded on benefits of a supportive sports bra. I absolutely love working out at my women's only gym. Being around other strong women and seeing them challenge themselves is so inspiring. On those days when I cannot get to the gym, I appreciate having workout videos that I can pop into my computer or DVD player. Lately I have been using the insanity series and 30 day shred by Jillian Michaels. A few other simple tools that I find helpful is a decent yoga mat, water bottle and a workout calendar to keep track of what I am doing.

 

3. Being Consistent

 

I am trying to work out at least five days a week.  I have been using weight lifting plans from bodybuilding.com At the moment I am using

Jamie Eason's 12-Week Transformation Plan.  I have enjoyed trying out new machines and pushing myself to lift more than I thought I could. I am learning that if you want to see results you HAVE to lift heavy weights. You HAVE to push yourself. This is an example of one of the sheets that you can print out off the sites. Notice that I am not doing crazy reps, but I am lifting a decent amount of weight. I know that it does not sounds like much to those of you that have been weight lifting for some time, but I was proud of myself when I put two 45lb plates on a bar that already weighs 45 lbs and then did 30 wide stance barbell squats. Whi hooo! By the end of the month I know that I will be challenging myself to lift even more.

 

In the past I was only able to do 2-3 push-ups at a time. Now I can easily do 15 push-ups in a row and I am working towards doing 100 over the course of the day. I am DETERMINED to build enough upper body strength  to do chin ups.

 

 

 

 

4. Motivating/Inspiring myself

 

regularly filling my "fitness" pinterest page with inspiring quotes and images that inspire and challenge me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of months ago I watched this video about a woman's journey to fitness and it moved me to tears.

5. Keeping my fridge and pantry stocked with healthy, nutritious food.

 

I am TERRIBLE at meal planning but I am good at keeping my fridge full of healthy options. These days I eat a lot of  oatmeal, whole-wheat English muffins, berries, steamed veggies, yams, squashes, yogurt, seeds, nuts, peanut butter, coconut oil, avocado, peppers, venison, fish, quinoa, kale, salads with homemade dressing and eggs. Once and awhile I have a Vega One bar or a protein shake when I am pressed for time but I prefer real food.  

 

 

I try and eat every three hours and try REALLY hard not to eat after 8pm. It helps when I make a big mason jar of tea and keep my hands busy. TV= snacking (at least for me). If I am organizing, crafting, painting, or visiting, I am less likely to consume unnecessary calories. I absolutely indulge in a little chocolate every day and at least once a week I enjoy a delicious waffle breakfast with my kiddos and a meal out with my husband. I LOOOVE food! Food equals pleasure but I am learning to eat to live not live to eat.

 

 

 

 

 

No crazy diets, pills, or starvation methods here. It's simple - burn more calories than you consume and use resistance training to build muscle and burn fat.

 

 

 

 

 

These Days: December

Wearing
a pair of black dress pants that have not fit me in over a year and a half
(the ones you gave me Holly)

Working
on my 2105 December Daily Album

Reading

Old issues of National Geographic 

 

Enjoying
 lots of good quality dark chocolate

 

Drinking
 water, water, water

 

Dreaming
about going to Harrison Hot Springs with my family after Christmas

Eating
oatmeal and frozen berries

Listening
to CBC radio

 

Feeling
optimistic

Learning
 to let things go

 

Blog Loving
Proverbs 31 Girl

 

Struggling

to NOT nibble in the evenings

Re-arranging
Levi's room

Starting
to try and do 100 sit-ups and at least 50 push-ups a day

Interested in reading
   Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans

 

Loving

the fact that the first wave of refugees arrived this week

 

Attempting
to spend less on Christmas gifts this year

 

Watching
House Hunters International on HGTV
   

Thinking About
how horrid it would be if Donald Trump became the next president in the U.S



 

Standing against the tide of fear and hatred

I typically don't discuss political and controversial topics on this blog, but once and awhile I find myself unable to remain quiet. I wish I had the time to discuss this particular topic in length, but since I do not, I will share an article written by Rachel Held Evans, as her heart and thoughts echo my own. This particular piece was written in response to a statement by the president of an "evangelic college" in the U.S.

 

"As you've probably heard, the president of Liberty University, one of the largest and most influential evangelical colleges in the United States, gave a speech this week, to the cheers of thousands of students, encouraging everyone in the LU community to arm themselves "so we could end those Muslims before they walk in.” "Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here,” he said. Okay, so let's be clear about two things: 1) We like to think that genocide is something that is committed by other people in other countries - that it could never happen here. But how do genocides begin? With tribalism, fear, and dehumanization. This is just the sort of rhetoric that inspires that kind of violence and it should be unequivocally condemned by all Americans, Christian or otherwise. The evangelical community will continue to lose its credibility if it insists it is simply abiding by the "clear teachings of Scripture" when it comes to opposing LGBT civil rights (based on a few obscure & debatable texts), for example, while simultaneously ignoring/explaining away everything Jesus taught about loving enemies and welcoming the stranger - prevalent themes throughout the New Testament. The world sees that inconsistency for what it is: hypocrisy. Similarly, all those calls for "religious freedom" during the summer ring pretty hollow when some of the same leaders call for shutting down mosques, turning away refugees based on their faith, creating databases to track Muslims, and arming Christians to "end" Muslims. If you only support religious freedom for people of your own faith and conviction, then you don't actually support religious freedom. And if you consider getting wished "happy holidays" religious persecution, but threatening Muslims with death acceptable, you are damaging the reputation of the Church and of Christ. Those of us who identify as Christians but oppose racism and Islamaphobia have an obligation to speak up to let Christian leaders know that, while we can disagree on various political and theological issues with grace and conviction, hateful rhetoric with potentially violent consequences will not be tolerated but met will calls for repentance.  This Advent seems darker than most. Our country seems overridden by hysteria, hate, racism, and fear, and I don't know what to do. Almighty God, give all of us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility..." - Rachel Held Evans

 

I could not agree more.

We must stand against this tide of fear and hatred. Our mandate is to love, extend grace, and give people hope. When I first saw the photo of the young Syrian boy that washed to shore in Turkey, I found myself sobbing on my keyboard, asking "Lord what can I do"? My heart was broken for that family, that nation, for people that are so desperate that the  threat of dying at sea was better than facing the terror their homeland. I could imagine their terror, fear and anxiety. We have to imagine ourselves in people's shoes sometimes, not only because it helps us feel compassion but because it also motivates us to take action. We cannot remain idle when we have so much to give. I encourage you to find a church or organization that is sponsoring a family and partner with them. I have included a link to the Neighborhood Church here in my hometown of Nanaimo if you would like to do so.

 

Christmas Season

I have not been as excited about Christmas this year, and I am  still trying to figure out why. Could it just the self imposed bucket list? The pressure to make things magical when all I want to do is face plant on my bed? Last year I was so organized, largely because Nathaniel was on paternity leave and I was still high on  baby hormones. This year I am just plain tired and Levi is taking exhaustion to new levels.  I think I need to give myself some permission to dread the workload associated  with Christmas, as well as the permission to let go of some things.

 

I doubt I will be writing individual messages in each Christmas card. Our annual letter and crazy family photo with have to suffice. I am keeping gifts to a minimum, as we are planning on renting a cabin in the interior with some friends and hope to connect with family at Harrison Hot Springs as well. I think that making memories with friends and family hold far more value than gifts that loose their novelty in a couple of weeks.  I am trying to focus on things that truly bring our family joy rather than additional stress.

 

Ordinarily I purchase everyone's gifts, including my own, but this year, I refuse to do so. Instead, I have given Nathaniel a list of gift suggestions so that he can do his part. I will be nice to open gifts I have not wrapped myself.

 I might actually bake a few Christmas goodies things this year as Amelia seems keen to help me in the evenings after the younger children have succumbed to exhaustion. Last night we made Christmas toffee and the sweetest little macaroon trees. Amelia thoroughly enjoyed my undivided attention. After I finally sent her to bed I did dishes until 10:30pm and then collapsed into bed myself. 

 

Every morning I make a lists of what I hope to accomplish that day, and each day I am reminded that I was too ambitious. I am a morning person and often feel like the world in my oyster at the start of the day. By 4pm I am completely overwhelmed by the volume in my house and the amount of debris underfoot.  As organized and well intentioned as I might be the previous night, it all undone each morning  when, in 30 minutes, Levi has shoved a chair up against the counter and tossed the contents of our baking drawer onto the floor, removed the skins from a bag of onions, and smeared boogers on the couch, all while I try and brush the girl's tangled hair, make breakfast, and toss Amelia's lunch into her backpack (if I have had the foresight to sign the appropriate forms and pack her lunch the night before). Sometime amidst the chaos, I  try and find a few minutes to sneak into our bedroom where Nathaniel is sleeping (after working 12 hour nightshift) and blindly grab something on the floor and hope that it is clean.

 

 I could get better at prepping lunches the night before, and picking out my outfit for the following day, but after I have dealt with the chaos from one day, I hardly have the energy to prepare for the next. I like to fantasize  about the day when I will take an entire day to prep meals for the week, and clean every surface of my home with bleach, but for now I will try to ignore the grimy surfaces and throw meals together at the last minute. I am realizing that I am not a type A sort of person. I dream of being that sort of person, but it's not how I actually function, or perhaps how I am able to function at this stage of my life. So yes, I want a picture perfect Christmas tree, décor and time to wrap presents like Martha Stewart but I am aware of my limitations and reality. Ha, this year I will be thankful if the tree remains upright. At the moment, only the upper half is decorated, as the lower decoration have been gleefully removed by my 16 month old.  Lowered expectations people. I "should" be scrubbing my floor right now as my three children are happily playing in the fort they have constructed out of cushions and nearly every blanket in my linen closet (which contains ZERO actual linen) but instead I am blogging about my life, my heart, my expectations and my reality. And it makes me happy to do so. Not to mention the fact that I won't be cranky when my floor get destroyed during the next snack break, which will inevitably be requested in the next ten minutes. Such is my life; my crazy,  messy, loud and wonderful life.                                                 

 

Amelia really wants to participate in the Christmas play at our church and I would love to sing in the choir for the Christmas Eve service. This year we intentionally skipped the Ladysmith light up (although we loved it last year) and instead, took the kiddos swimming. I completely forgot about the Santa clause parade as well as the other "Christmas themed" events that take place at the end of November. Whatever. I have no desire to run around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to "do it all".

 

I am still planning on doing December daily album this year, but I have taken a more simplified approach and purchased an easy to assemble kit from stampin up. Ordinarily I select beautiful Christmas paper from a craft store hand cut each page, stamp journaling card and numbers, but this year I knew I would not have the time or the energy to do so. I am looking forward to seeing how it comes together.