A New Beginning

I'm reposting this from my photography blog... since I think it fits in both places. =)
 


Well, folks, I'm back... once again. =)

A lot of things have happened in my absence... the biggest one being that I quit my job! Yes, you read that correctly: we're in a recession and I quit my job. It's kind of a terrifying thought in many ways, yet I know it was absolutely the right thing to do. 

While I don't have as much life experience as many others who have more, um, "wisdom" as we call it in our family (yes, years), or people who have kids, or those who have gone through layoffs, or other things like that, I do believe I've gone through enough life to realize that there are a few times in your life when you're faced with major decisions that will literally change the trajectory of your life and story. 

A few of my recent story-changing decisions include accepting a teaching position in inner-city Philadelphia with Teach For America in 2006, and saying yes to my ridiculously tall (and skinny) Asian man on August 10, 2008. Now, I'm adding to that mix quitting my job in 2010. 

So why is this such a big deal? I mean, it's "just" about money, isn't it? Not exactly. In a few words, it's simply that I'm saying yes to myself. I'm saying yes to following my dreams; I'm saying yes to letting myself be happy; I'm saying yes to allowing myself to nurture myself as an artist. I'm simply saying yes to things that up until now I've said no to for the sake of being responsible. 

I realize that's a pretty privileged thing to be able to say. Believe me, I absolutely recognize that it is! But after many long months of conversation with Josh, along with lots of prayer, fretting, tears, soul-searching, reflection, and advice from family and friends.... I came to the conclusion that if I wasn't in an "emergency" situation (i.e. one where using some of our savings was an acceptable thing to do), I didn't know when a situation would ever come along. It wasn't a time where Josh and I had physical needs to take care of (mortgage, bills, etc).... but it was a time of desperate emotional and spiritual need. I don't want to live my life with regrets, and trust me, having my spiritual life, my marriage, and my happiness suffer would be things I don't know if I could forgive myself for.

So... I quit. And this past month has been a time of figuring out what exactly that means... but also just a time of stepping back, stepping out, and giving myself room to breathe and recover. And slowly, I'm starting to step back in. 

I know I've been gone for a very long time, but don't be fooled -- I haven't stopped taking photos. I'm still committed to a photo a day; I've just been horrible at posting them. =) However, it's time to step back into this place, and I'm excited to do so.

I'll also have some exciting news to update you on over the next few weeks/months... such as a very important piece of mail I should be receiving this week or next from the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. =)

One last thing: I'm really glad you're all along with me on the journey.

Week in Review

So, what's happened this week? Well...

February 4 - A field trip to The Franklin Institute. Lots of gizmos and gadgets to explore.

February 5 - The Wheaton Promise event at the Union League. We ate delicious food right as the snowstorm settled in.

February 6 - Day 1 of the great Blizzard of 2010! (We got about 2 feet of snow that day...)

February 7 - Snow church at our house! That's what you do when everything else gets canceled, right?

February 8 - A day of being snowed in...

February 9 - A story of being locked out...

February 10 - Still to be determined - check it out later. Though, we're getting pummeled with snow again - we've gotten about 8" so far, and it's still snowing... so it may very well be more documentation of Blizzard 2010!

In other words... I'm posting every day at my 365 Project, and if you're interested in daily happenings, you should check it out! =) 

Joy in the City

Last January, our church started a project to build a new adult ministry center across from the church building. Well, let me rephrase that. Last January, our church started a project to totally renovate an old, abandoned, dilapidated factory warehouse into a new ministry center called Joy in the City.

It was a pretty major undertaking, and despite a number of setbacks, we held a pseudo dedication for it last weekend. There are still a number of things to be finished, but the windows are in, the drywall is up, and it's actually being used this weekend!

This center has long been a dream for our church, and it will be a new, expanded, consistent home to a counseling center, legal clinic, adult education classes, offices, and Biblical Seminary's urban M.Div. track, to name a few. Although I was definitely participating in the dedication, I managed to snap a few pictures...

 

 

 

 

 

Community: Birthday Party Style

This post is a bit of a connection to to my earlier post about thoughts on our home and community.... at least it is for me! I'm sure you'll see the relevance between the two, although this one is just a bit more fun and lighthearted. It's an opportunity to see a little bit more of what goes on in our lives on a fairly regular basis.

This past weekend, our friends and neighbors, Ted & Katharine, had a birthday bash at their house to celebrate Ted’s golden birthday. I posted a picture over at my 365 Project, but I wanted to post a few more photos here. Here's a bit of what we found after walking a whole 5 houses down the street...


People: Blurry style. (Sorry... still trying to figure out indoor lighting when it's not fantastic and I don't want to get up in people's business. I'm thinking an external flash would be a great birthday present this year...)

Silliness: Ted style. Also, blurry style. I was focusing on something else, but there was a momentary, thoroughly Ted expression, so I tried to catch it. The goal was partially achieved.

Food: Indian style. Katharine made some amazing butter chicken curry... and promised to share the recipe with us...

Rice: Asian family style, compliments of Cecily (she's got a 10 cup rice maker... fancy, right?)

Announcing: Newlywed style. Ted & Katharine know how it's done.

Presents: Haitian style. Ted will be going down to Haiti in a few weeks with his law school, and taking the donations he asked for in lieu of gifts to the organization they'll be working with.

Dessert: Chocolate cupcake style. Mmm, indeed.

Celebration: Birthday and singing style. Hooray for Ted being born!

Candles: Trick style. Notice Ted's expressions.

"Blowing" candles out: In the sink style.

The End: Hannah style, meaning that's it for today, friends. But, one last comment:

Happy Birthday, Ted!

Home and Community

The past few months have contained a lot of realizations for me about where Josh and I are in life, and what I view as “home”. (You can see some previous thoughts here and here.) Now, there is a part of me that will always, always, always consider Washington home. We moved there the summer I was 12, and those next 6 years before heading off to Wheaton were pretty formative. Some of my most cherished friendships were forged, I discovered many different aspects of myself as I learned, grew, and created in various groups and communities, and, most importantly, it’s where my family was and still is. I’m uncertain I’ll ever be able to fully relinquish Washington as a big part of my definition of home.

That said, it’s funny what happens when you get married. In our house, we now talk of three homes. There’s my “home back in WA”, there’s Josh’s “home back in NY”, and then, there’s home… our home. And that’s really all there is to it. I’m home when I’m with Josh. Sappy, sure, but true, nonetheless. Now, that doesn’t change the deep, deep love I have for my family, nor Josh’s love for his (or our growing love for each other’s), but it does mean we’re in a different place now. The “end all” of home is simply where the other is.

Now, to add to that… location wise, we think of Philadelphia as home. Neither of us was expecting it, and I certainly didn’t even want it. But that’s what’s happened. We’ve both been in Philly 3 ½ years (and married for 1 ½ of those) and will be here at least another 3 more since we just bought our new house. And I’m actually ok with that. I still have a pretty big pang in my heart whenever we have to leave Seattle, but I’ve realized that, were I closer to my family, I would actually be really, really happy where we are. (And by closer to my family, I mean close enough that I could affordably get there and back in a weekend… like a 2-hour drive. Of course, I’d totally also love it if they were 15 minutes away.)

So, why do I like living in Philly so much now, given that: a) when I first moved here I hated it, b) my family lives 3000 miles away, and c) I live in the inner-city in a high-crime, low-income neighborhood?

Well, in one word: community.

The community here is absolutely amazing. I really mean that. There are 3 other church families on our block. Within about a 5 block radius of our house, there are… well… at least 30 other families from our church – that we know and talk to/hang out with on a regular basis. Sometimes it blows my mind a little bit to actually stop and think about that: 30 families/friends within walking distance. And that’s a low estimate. Think about it… once you hit your teenage years and stop “playing outside” regularly… how many of your neighbors do you actually know? And we’re not talking about being in college, either. We’re talking your permanent home.

It seems like the norm these days is to know a couple of your neighbors – particularly the ones who are the same age as you or have kids the same age – and to have no clue about the rest aside from what they might look like and maybe their name. That’s what I largely grew up with, and that’s what I experienced for the first couple of years after I graduated from college until Josh and I got married and I moved into Hunting Park. Then it changed.

Now, that’s not to say I know everyone on our block… because that’s definitely not the case. In fact, we’ve only met a few people so far, since we moved in in the middle of winter and it’s so cold that nobody stays outside a second longer than they need to. But we did know a number of people on our old block (2 blocks down), and had a lot more that we regularly waved and said hello to whenever we saw them. When it gets warmer, people will always be outside, talking, visiting, hanging out on the porch and you’ll get to know them – good and bad included. You see, there’s very little privacy in row houses since everything is so close by… if a baby is crying next door, you can hear it. If kids are screaming as they play in the street, you can here it. If neighbors are fighting a few doors down, you can hear it. There’s an interesting transparency here that’s very different from anywhere else I’ve lived, and it can often be pretty uncomfortable and even painful. But it’s pretty good for giving you a good kick in the rear and helping you realize your own criticisms and hypocrisy, and forcing you to confront and work to change those things. (I’m still in the process of that.)

Our neighborhood is far from perfect. It’s not what most people consider safe or desirable. I live literally 3,000 miles away from my family. But I also am part of an incredible community. In the midst of poverty, crime, brokenness, and so many other kinds of pain and painful issues, there’s a real sense of hope. Many people are originally from the neighborhood, many are not. But nobody’s looking for it to gentrify – we’re just looking for it to improve for the people here. And I think it will. My neighbors are people who really care about helping their friends out, bringing justice, and making Hunting Park a better place. They are people who want to see the kids succeed in school, youth be given the exciting opportunities they deserve, and adults fulfill their dreams and goals. And they are people who will work on your new house for hours, help you move in the middle of a massive snowstorm, watch your cats for two weeks without expecting a dime, and come over last minute for lots of board game and movie nights (that’s one of the best parts about living so close by – you don’t even have to look for a parking spot!). They are people who are ready to live life with you day by day, sharing in the good and the bad with you, encouraging you when you’re down, laughing and celebrating with you when things are great. I’d say that’s something pretty incredible, something I haven't really seen anywhere else, and the reason I’m pretty excited to stick around for at least a few more years.

I just have to figure out how to create a little more time and find a few more funds to get out to Seattle more frequently… then it'll all be perfect. =)

The 365 Project

Alrighty, the 365 Project has officially launched! My first photo is up, and here's a little excerpt...

So, I have to admit. Yesterday I started getting really nervous. I was thinking about how I'm starting this new project, and it's all about photography and art and creative expression, and whatever my first photo is, it should be impressive, right? Or super meaningful. Or deeply thought-provoking. Or amazingly beautiful. Or... or... or... The doubts just started piling up, thick and fast.

Check out the full post (and the photo) here.


Plus, I'm SO EXCITED about what I'm going to be posting/photographing tomorrow! Be sure to check back in, because it's going to be good! =)

The "HOW MUCH DID YOU SAY?!" Gas Bill.... or, In Which We Learn What Being a Homeowner is ALL About

I'm sure you've all had bills that you open and go, "Wow, wasn't really expecting it to be that much, but... ok... what can I do now?" and pay it. It's high enough that it sticks with you, and you change your course of action the next time you almost leave the lights on, or want to turn the heat up another degree or two.

Well. Josh and I have a similar, although perhaps a little more crazy story to add to the mix.

As you know, we barely managed to move into our new house before we left for Seattle for Christmas break. We spent 3 nights in the new house (and lived there approximately 54 hours before leaving for Seattle), then left for 12 days. Even though we had our rental through the end of December, we were completely moved out, the heat was all the way down, and no electricity was being used. When we came back in January, we spent 4 days in the house before our gas meter was read. Last Saturday we got the bill.

Ready for this one? Because I wasn't.

Our gas bill was $540!!!

Yes, you read that correctly.... $540. I think I was in shock at first. I couldn't possibly fathom how we could have a $540 bill. First of all, as mentioned before, we were GONE FOR ALMOST TWO WEEKS. Secondly, we keep the house at 60 except for one hour in the morning and a couple hours at night when we put it up to 64... sometimes even 65-66 if we're really cold. And did I mention Josh works at home most days during the week? We use a space heater in our bedroom at night, and during the day if he needs it, he'll use that in whatever room he's in. Granted, we didn't get a chance to put up plastic on our windows or bleed the radiators before we left (since we spent all of 54 hours in our house), but even during those two weeks, the heat was all the way down - which was 40, I believe.

Yeah, we were completely stunned and stumped, too.

Now, once we got back, we got a couple whiffs of natural gas smell. We couldn't pinpoint it, but it was only in the kitchen and the stairs from the kitchen leading down to the basement. The same day we got the bill, we called the emergency number at the gas company. They sent someone out to check for a leak.... and the guy found nothing. Zero. Zip. We even led him around the kitchen and basement - he just told us his instruments were really advanced and powerful, and that we had no leak. Since it was the weekend, we couldn't talk to the billing department, so we simply winterized whatever we could. We bled the radiators (though it turned out they actually didn't need it), and we put up the plastic on all of our windows. But aside from that, we just had to wait.

(Side note: when we moved into our rental house we bought/installed one of the energy-saving thermostats, where you can set it at different temps for different times/days. We then took it with and reinstalled it in our new house. I know most of you probably consider this normal, but if you don't have one or live in an older home like ours, I highly recommend getting one. I love that we don't have to worry about turning the heat up or down - and that we can set it for each day of the week so that on nights we have things scheduled at church and whatnot, we're not wasting heat. Plus, it just helps us save a lot of energy and money in general.)

Well, on Monday we finally got a chance to talk to the gas company about things. They put our bill into dispute, and let us know they'd get back to us within a few days. A few days later, my heart rate started returning a little bit more to normal. Turns out a couple things contributed to the high bill:

1. Because we bought the new house on Nov 20, for their own internal billing processes, the gas company waited 2 months to send the bill. Ok. In the midst of refinishing the house, we hadn't noticed a gas bill hadn't come. But $540 for two months is still a lot, even if it was for two houses (especially since we were still only living in one).
2. For our rental house, they had ESTIMATED what our bill would be. And somehow, when they estimated our usage, they estimated way more than what any of our previous bills/usage had ever been (and yes, that's taking into account that it was for two months). So when they actually READ the usage, they found out that, hmm, we hadn't used $340 worth of gas in 2 months. We'd used $200. Fair enough, considering it has been a good deal colder this winter than last year, and we didn't winterize our rental house since we were moving out.

So, our bill was now down to $410. But, in case you didn't notice, that still leaves a bill of $210 for our NEW house... the one that we lived in for 54 hours before we left and 4 days once we got back. So how the heck did we get a $210 bill?!

After doing some more snooping, and turning on lots of appliances trying to figure things out (which, as you'll see, was actually probably pretty dangerous), we thought we could narrow it down to the gas whiffs coming from the stove. They were very inconsistent, with no pattern whatsoever, but it was the best we could do. We called our home warranty people, and they said they'd send someone out, but that first, we had to call the gas company to come out and have them "tag" the stove (whatever that really means). So, gas company guy comes out again.

EXCEPT, OH WAIT. This time, the guy comes in, comes into the kitchen with the same aforementioned "advanced and powerful" instrument, and finds that there indeed IS a leak in the kitchen.... and not only one, but there are THREE. The pipe connecting the stove to the gas line had THREE HOLES IN IT. Did you hear that? THREE. And the first guy had completely missed it. The second guy actually said he had no idea how the first guy didn't catch it because it was "very obvious". Hmm. So, for the past two months we've had a pipe with three holes leaking gas into the house that cause there to be MORE gas used than it took to heat our rental house for two months. Perhaps that's been contributing to how tired Josh and I have been? Food for thought, at any rate.

But the story gets better.

Turns out, you're supposed to have an emergency shut-off valve within 6 feet of your stove. We have an "emergency" valve.... but, um, it's down in the basement. And, the guy from the homeowner's insurance who can fix the stove's pipe actually can't, because he cannot legally hook it back up until we have a shut-off valve within 6 feet. But he doesn't do that kind of work (a plumber does), and apparently, that kind of plumbing isn't covered by our warranty. Can you see where this is going?

The plumber is coming to look at things today... he couldn't give us any estimate until he looks at how far it is, what kind of piping we have, etc. All he said was that it could be anywhere from $85-$500 to move the shut-off valve. So, in the meantime, we have no stove (sound familiar, Mom, Dad, and Jacob?), we're waiting to hear the final word on the gas bill (maybe it'll come down a little bit more?), and we're waiting to see how much money we'll have to shell out to fix the piping and make our house livable again (why aren't we still renting?). Hence the title of this post: in which we learn what being a homeowner is ALL about! =)

 
P.S. If anyone has any suggestions or experience with this, we'd gladly welcome it!!!

In which I give it another try...

So, it's probably time for an update on the SOAR! Scholarship.

Given the distinct lack of "!!!" at this point in the post, you might've gathered that I wasn't one of the recipients. =) I'm disappointed, yes, but I'm also ok, and really quite glad that I entered. It would have truly been life-changing to be a recipient, but I'm also quite confident that things happen as they do for a reason. And, the process of submitting my application really started me down a kind of life-changing path, as it is. I may not be able to start a photography business tomorrow, but the planning and brainstorming and dreaming have definitely started... and I really have to thank my amazing family and friends for a large part of that.

For those of you who were able to watch my video and leave comments.... your words encouraged me more than you will ever know. And even those who couldn't watch due to technical issues, but sent emails anyway... your support really meant the world to me. I love having the opportunity to be where I am and to share and teach in the inner city, but sometimes it can feel like a very small and isolated world. It was quite scary to share all of this with you, but I have been so humbled by the incredible love you've given back. Your response blew me away. It's an amazing blessing to have you all in my life - and I really mean that.

So, while I didn't "win", I DID start dreaming about it all again, and asking "What if?", and I'd say that's bigger than winning any day. As a way to keep the momentum and creative juices flowing, I decided to do my own version of the 365 Project, where you commit to taking a photo a day for a year. I started a new blog and you can check it out here: hannahrose365.blogspot.com If any of you are interested in joining me in the project, just let me know! The more, the merrier. =)

Once again, thank you SO MUCH for all of your love and support. I'm so very grateful to have you all in my life.

Goal vs. Plan

In college, one of my theater professors told me that when you're doing an acting scene, you should always have a goal, but not necessarily a plan. See, if you have a plan, it only leaves room for your actions and the actions that you want everyone around you to have. But that isn't how things happen. People don't always do what you want - in fact they rarely do, and if you're relying on them to do certain things that they don't do... well, then what happens to your plan? However, if you have a GOAL, and you go into a scene with that in mind, there are MANY ways to get where you're going. You might have challenges along the way, and people will definitely react in ways you weren't planning on them reacting (they have their own desires and objectives, after all), but if you keep your goal in mind, you can adjust, get creative, and have a lot more opportunities and paths to take to reach your goal.

That saying has become one of the ways I look at life now. Sure, I am a little obsessive about planning and being prepared (that's still important)... but I can't control what anyone else does, and I don't know what's going to come next each day. I don't know what opportunities will arise, or what doors will be closed. But if I have a goal, I can keep working towards it in some way, even if it wasn't a part of "the plan". I can accept the challenges and look at them as things I can learn from - even if I don't like them, even if they take me a direction I didn't want to go, even if the timing is different than I'd like. God knows what I need most - and has my best in mind - even when I don't want to recognize it! I just have to trust Him with that and keep moving forward, constantly learning and growing. There are times when it will feel like everything's going crazy, and my plans will be thwarted... but I just have to keep adjusting and working towards my goals, trusting that it will all work out as it should in the end.

Now that's not too hard to do, is it? =)

WE'RE DONE!!! And a bit of a reflection, too...

I can hardly believe it myself... but we're done with our new house!!!

Well, with as much as we're finishing before we leave for Christmas, at any rate. We'll have plenty to do when we get back in January, such as refinishing the stairs and painting and finishing the floors in our guest bedroom. But for now, we're DONE! I can't tell you what a GOOD feeling it is! Even though we're not really moved in yet (Saturday's the big moving day), there's no more work to do in the house in 2009. Woohoo!!!

I can't believe how big of a project this has all turned out to be. Sure, we had to "see promise" in the house when we bought it... but, man! I didn't know I'd be able to see this much promise! Or, I suppose I just didn't realize how long all of the work would take us. But boy, am I glad we did it. And I am especially thankful for Josh and all of the incredible work he did. While I've been going over to the house after work each day, I couldn't really take any big chunks of time off, especially since I'm currently trying to do the work of two positions and we're coming up on Christmas (the crazy time for development). But Josh was (thankfully) able to have a more flexible schedule, putting some things on hold and rearranging other things, and he's been at the house literally everyday since we bought it (except for the days we were gone for Thanksgiving). I know it's "only" been about 3 weeks... but it's been a looooong time since 3 weeks has felt sooooo looooong! When you're not used to doing this kind of work, and just about everything you're doing is new to you, it's just exhausting every which way.

Anyway, while it's a little bit later than we'd hoped for, Josh is doing the last coat of polyurethane today, and we'll be starting to really move stuff in tomorrow morning - beyond just stuffing boxes into the basement. We'll actually get to start moving furniture. Crazy, huh? It's really all happening... we're homeowners, and we're going to finally live in the house we own!


I think in the midst of having so much work to do on the house, I haven't taken much time to process what it means to actually have bought a house, and specifically to have bought a house in our neighborhood. Even though we've been in our neighborhood for a year and a half now, and even though we're only moving 2 blocks down on the same street, it's a different chapter. I never thought it would be the case, but Philly is really where I am now. I've already lived here 3 1/2 years, and we'll be staying at least another 3 years now... so, even if we moved away in 3 years (the amount of time we "have" to stay to qualify for the homebuyer's tax credit), that's still almost 7 years of my life -- and that's no small chunk of time! I can remember when I thought I'd be in Philly no more than 2-3 years, and then head back to Seattle, or to NY, or Chicago... how life changes, huh?

Yet I love it.

I love that I officially get to be a part of our community - a homeowner, not just a renter. I love that we get to meet new neighbors, new kids, new friends... and that we're not too far from our "old" house, either! Though, once it gets really cold, even 2 blocks will seem far. =) I'm a little nervous about starting over, even if it's just a couple blocks away... it always takes time to build relationships. But I love that I live in a place where people sit out on their porches (when it's warm enough), and actually know and say hello to their neighbors, and are willing to help each other out. I love that kids always want to play, and that people have no problem asking if they can have the carpet or panels sitting out on your front porch (our answer: yes, of course, please! we don't want it anymore!), and that when you ask for help with painting and sanding and working on your house, you have different people coming over almost every day of the week. I love that people know our church and the community center, and actually feel welcome to come on Sundays or to various events. I love that we only need one car, that Josh can walk to work (i.e. church), and that most of our friends live within a 4-block radius.

And while I might not be ready for you to quote me on this, because YOU KNOW how much I fought against God bringing me here at first... I might actually be starting to like Philadelphia. And yes, you heard that correctly. Not just exist in it (since it was a big step when I realized I could tolerate it), but actually like it. Even though I miss my family and friends in Seattle dearly, and often wish I could be closer to the community of friends from college who stayed in Chicago and the group that moved to NY... Philly is really starting to become my place... where I belong... it's where Josh and I have built a life together, where we feel passionate about being, and where there is much, much need for the Gospel, love, and justice.

I think, in short, Philadelphia is becoming my home. And yes, you did in fact read that correctly: my home.

Who'd have ever thought that would happen, right? I guess it's good I'm not God, and even better that God IS God and has the best plan of all in mind. That's not to say I won't still rebel and slip into my "but Seattle and NY and Chicago are so much better as cities!" mindset sometimes, but it does mean that I'm becoming content with being here, trying to humbly love and learn from the people around me, and enjoying the immense blessings we've been given.


Those all sound like pretty good things to come home to to me, don't you think?

Single Digits!!!

So, for the first time in a few weeks, I'm writing a non-house entry! And, it's for good reason: it's only 9 days until Christmas!!!

Christmas truly is one of my favorite times of the year. Even though some people "grow out of it", I still get almost as excited as I did as a child. I remember how excitement simply permeated our house growing up. As soon as Thanksgiving was over, we officially started making our lists for St. Nick. SO MUCH thought went into these lists, though, trust me, it was not the first we'd been thinking of them. It was simply the first opportunity to actually write it all down. And write we did, because our lists had to be ready by December 5th!

In case you aren't familiar with it, December 6th is also known as St. Nicholas Day, and tradition is that you leave your shoes and your Christmas wish list out on the eve of the 5th for St. Nick. That night, he comes to the house, takes your list, and - if you've been good - leaves you gifts in your shoes such as an apple and orange, some nuts, and maybe some small chocolate pieces. If you've been bad, you'll get a lump of coal. And trust me, NOBODY wants a lump of coal!

So, December 5th was a pretty big day for us. We had to make sure our lists were ready and that our biggest pair of shoes were by the door before we went to bed (not going to deny it - I'd definitely search for my shoes that could hold the most). And then, December 6th! Well! It was almost as exciting as Christmas Day itself! Almost. =)

For the next few weeks, we would hardly sleep. Or at least I hardly slept. Maybe my siblings did, but I certainly didn’t. I would stay up late thinking about the perfect present for each of my family members, making lists, and reading passages in the Bible about Jesus' birth over and over (yes, I was a nerd even as a child).

Now, I don’t want you to think that Christmas was all about getting gifts – because it definitely wasn’t. I used to spend hours in front of our nativity set, reenacting the Christmas story... from Mary and Joseph’s perspective, from the shepherds’ perspective, from the angels’ perspective, from the Wise Men’s perspective, and yes, even from the animals’ perspective. And to be honest, while I was really excited to receive presents (in our family, your birthday and Christmas were really the only times you got new toys, books, clothes... new anything), I was just as excited – if not more – to GIVE presents.

To this day, giving presents to my family at Christmas remains one of my most favorite things to do. I absolutely LOVE spending months, and yes, I DO mean months, brainstorming and looking for things each person will like. And in my family, it’s not at all about “going big”. These presents are pretty much always on a budget, but also always intentionally for that person.

This year, I started brainstorming and shopping early – as always. I get SO EXCITED about Christmas! Really, I do! Just ask anyone in my family... it’s a pretty major thing. I managed to hold off on buying presents until about... October. After that, I hit the ground running! And trust me, I’ve had a number of pretty good finds this year. Unfortunately, my family reads this, so I can’t share any of them! But oh, some of them are goooood.

This year my love of Christmas and my inability to be patient and wait until at least November to buy gifts actually turned out to be a very good thing. Since every waking moment Josh and I have is spent working on the house, neither of us have had any time to do... well... anything else. That includes Christmas shopping. So, even though everything else is CRAZY!, I can at least feel semi-prepared in regards to giving gifts! And for the few gifts I haven't already purchased, I've got them on my list. And does it say I'm way too much of an organizational freak if I have lists of what I need to purchase, what I need to take with me to Seattle, and what I need to wrap when I get to Seattle already ready?

We fly back to Seattle on the 22nd, and I plan on sleeping the entire way back. And maybe the entire rest of the day once we get there. We are so exhausted from all this house work, we could probably just sleep for a week straight. But! When Christmas is only 9 days away, you can't give up a full week! So, come December 23rd, I plan on grabbing Josh and any of my siblings that are available, and getting that last bit of shopping down! Because, quite honestly, I have to admit it, I do love at least one trip to the mall when it's all crazy and there are no parking spots and you can totally buy a chai and maybe even some fudge because you know you'll walk off all the extra calories, and it's so much fun to see what deals stores have, and to maybe pick up just one or two extra things. Of course, I think part of the reason I don't get very stressed in that environment is because of the aforementioned obsessive list-making. Since I already know what I need, I can enjoy just wandering around a bit, finding even more ideas (which yes, I actually put down on a list for the next year's ideas), and doing lots of people-watching. It really is a wonderful time.

Oh! And then there's Christmas Eve. Aside from going to church (I absolutely love the candlelight services), I also really love being one of St. Nick's helpers on Christmas Eve. And by that, I mean I get to spend hours wrapping presents from St. Nick that haven't yet been wrapped. Or helping my mom wrap presents for everyone else. It's been something that's been done for as long as I can remember, and I truly cherish that time.

When I was much younger, the locked door of my parents' bedroom was the sign that someone was wrapping presents. And you could knock, they'd ask who was there, you'd tell them, and see if they'd let you come in. If they didn't, you'd wait 10 minutes, then try to pass off as someone else ("Mom" was usually the best bet, though I rarely got the voice right). But, oh! The suspense! If you weren't allowed in, then your curiosity as to why just went through the roof! Because you knew that right then, they were either wrapping something for you, or had something in the room you couldn't see. And TRUST ME, I am a VERY curious person! So it was purely blissful torture. =)

So, as we enter into the single digits of the days left until Christmas, I hope you take some time to think about what you really enjoy about this time. While many celebrations and traditions might seem fairly disconnected to Christ (and the whole purpose of "Christmas"), I hope that you can still find joy in being able to pass on gifts because of the greatest gift we've been given, to treasure the time you have with family and friends, and to look around for the many blessings you've received this year, this month, this week, and this day. And you better be good, too! You don't want to find a lump of coal in your stocking come Christmas morning!

And the Renovations Begin... Now...

Well, ok, so our renovations actually began about a week ago... but who's really keeping track, right? It's not like I'm fretting that we only have 16 days to finish everything and move... no, not me, I would never do that!

Anywho.


We are officially homeowners(!) and we are officially tearing that house up! It's great. Josh has put aside some of his studying/ordination stuff for the month of December and thus has been able to get over to the house for a few hours each day (during the day). Then when I get back from work, if it's a "free" (non-ministry) night, we head over there for another few hours to get some stuff done. It's fun, but I'm definitely feeling the time crunch (our goal to have all work done and be moved in/moved out of the rental is December 19).

Here's a list of what we're doing to our 2-story, 3-bedroom, 1200 sq ft house:

• Removing wallpaper. Lots of it. Each room has some. It's lovely. (Take a look at the picture below, with the wallpaper of china plates.... um... yes... we also had some that had cornucopias and fruit.) Then, of course, washing all the walls.
• Filling in the lines of wood panels (that have previously been painted over) with compound to make a smooth wall. Each panel is about 3" wide, and the lines we're filling in are from floor to ceiling. We have these panels in one bedroom, the entire upstairs hallway, and the hallway up the stairs on one side. And of course, each line (of which there are SO many) requires at least 2 go-bys with the compound (and drying time in between) to achieve a truly flat finish.
• Sanding all previously mentioned walls with the wood paneling. Plus, all the extra random holes around the house that we had to compound from nails, wear and tear, removing paneling (read below), etc.
• Tearing out the lovely paneling (the gold-flecked stuff) on the long continuous wall that leads from the living room up the stairs (only to find that is has more lovely wallpaper underneath... we're just painting over that). Taking out the paneling also includes removing the molding and a couple banisters, too. Oh, the adventures.
• Stripping the paint from the original wood molding in 2/3 of the house.
• Priming every room except the bathroom and kitchen.
• Painting every room except the bathroom and kitchen. For now. (Those rooms can be tackled at a later, post-move-in date.)
• Ripping up all of the carpet. From the maroon to the baby blue to the aqua to the purple. It's all going.
• Sanding the (original) hardwood floors. We've checked in various places throughout the house and they seem to be in quite good condition. But, we get to rent the big machine and sand them all (2-3 times over).
• Refinishing the floors. Yeah, the stinky stuff that will make them look pretty. Woot.
• Moving in!

So, our days are pretty full, but we have some friends and neighbors who have or will be lending some hands, and hopefully we'll get it all done in time! (Because we don't really have an option not to get it done.) I haven't taken very many pictures because we've been busy working and it's literally a huge mess (the good thing is we don't have to worry about getting stuff on the carpet since it'll all be going soon, anyway). But, for those of you who have been asking, here are just a few of our just-starting out shots... I'm looking forward to doing some before/after comparisons, so you'll get a full tour eventually, don't worry.


To start out, a glimpse of some of the lovely aforementioned wallpaper...

Then, a few of the living room and stairs (where a good portion of the work has taken place so far)...


Josh starting to loosen the paneling...

And then taking the molding off...

Ok, that's all you get for now, but don't worry. There will be more. I promise. Maybe I'll even take some today! We've removed the wallpaper and cleaned the walls... oh! And tip! To remove wallpaper, the best method is to use warm water with some dish soap in it. Not even kidding. Forget the expensive stuff and just go with that. Anyway, we've also gotten pretty much all the compounding and sanding done (which was a lot, trust me). The paneling is out, and now we're getting ready to prime. Priming and painting. Oh, if you live in Philly and want to help out, just let us know! We have a painting party coming up on Saturday... =)

We Have a Big Announcement...

... we're buying a house! (Ha. No, I'm not pregnant. And no, we have no plans to "expand" anytime soon. Ask again in 5 years.)

We are actually quite far along in the process, and by that, I mean we are closing TODAY! It's so crazy! Talk about feeling grown up. I still haven't quite wrapped my mind around it. Today, sometime after 1pm, Josh and I will own a house. Weird. And exciting!

We've been renting a house two blocks from our church for the past 15 months (since we got married), and our landlord let us know there was a rent-to-buy option on the house, so we knew he'd be willing to sell. Once the first-time home buyers credit came about, we started to really think about things - especially how long we planned to be in Philadelphia. We kinda of dilly-dallied for a while - specifically concerning the length in Philly thing. But, by September (and after lots of talks with our families and friends) we'd decided we wanted to go for it.

First things first, we approached our landlord about buying. Our rental house is super close to our church, in the middle of our church community and friends, and works quite well for us size-wise. It's big enough to have people over every week, and has 3 bedrooms (or about 2.6 - the middle room is fairly small), so we can have a guest room and study, too. We have beautiful original woodwork and wood floors (about 80 years old) throughout the house, and all in all, the house has served us well this first 1+ year.

However, the house is anything but perfect. It's old to start, and was abandoned for 1.5 years before we moved in. Our landlord did a lot to fix it up, but he fixed it up to be, well, livable - not necessarily sustainable. So, as an example, we've had one of our dining room walls knocked out twice within the past year to fix a pipe that was leaking in our basement. The first time, our landlord repaired only the part of the pipe that was leaking right then... even though the whole pipe obviously needed to be replaced. So, we had a big whole in our dining room for a week (because it always takes him a while to fix things). Then, a number of months later, we got another leak in our basement. So they came back and knocked out the same wall, so they could replace the other half of the pipe. All that to say, Josh and I weren't exactly convinced of the integrity of our rental house, and we figured that if we made an offer, we could probably get it for a pretty reasonable price (especially because we know what our landlord paid and how much we've paid in rent).

Well, we were wrong. Our landlord, it turns out, truly is a business man, 100% of the way, and doesn't care about anything else except making profit for himself. He wanted about $20,000 more than the house is even close to being worth... and in our neighborhood, where the nicest houses sell for $100,000 (if that), that is a LOT to be asking for. So, we started looking elsewhere (or I should say, Josh did... he did most of the work, I must give him credit).

And we found one!

It's actually on the same block we live on now, just two blocks down. And on top of that, it's pretty much the exact same floor plan as our rental house. Yeah, go figure. However, it was owned (and lived in - big difference) by a Puerto Rican couple for about 35 years, and they took really good care of it (they actually know a bunch of people from our church really well, too). It's been not just a house, but their home, which definitely shows. It doesn't have the original woodworking, which we'll be sad to lose, but it also has a kitchen, bathroom, and basement that our rental house can't even be compared to. I will have more than an 10"x12" counter space to use to cook/prepare food! Woohoo! AND, get this, AND we can not only turn around in the bathroom, BUT WE CAN OPEN THE LINEN CLOSET DOOR ALL THE WAY. (In our rental, we can open it about halfway before it bumps into the sink.) And the basement, while not fully finished, has had the floors sealed, drywall put up to make separate "room" spaces, and has a bathroom that I actually would use. (Our rental has a bathroom in the basement that I have used ONCE since we've lived there, and trust me, it was ONLY because it was a true, desperate, life-and-death emergency.)

So, we're pretty excited.

The only thing is that we'll be doing a lot of work with the decor. Meaning we're getting rid of it all. Mostly because of Josh. Because you know how I love me some maroon carpet, wallpaper with country scenes... and you ESPECIALLY know how much I love gold-flecked vinyl paneling. Oh yeah. *grin* Needless to say, even though we're closing today, we'll be renting our other house through December so that we can do lots of fun stuff in the new house like repainting just about every room (we're saving the bathroom for later, when we can figure out if there's anything we can do with the wood paneling), ripping up the carpet, and refinishing the hardwood floors underneath. It should be a grand adventure!

So, that's going to be our grand project over the next month... since, you know, we didn't have enough other stuff going on, with it being Thanksgiving and Christmas and the crazy season at work, and all that. But all is well, and pretty soon, I'll be a full-fledged grown-up. I mean, I've been doing the full-time job for 4 years now, I've gotten married, I'm buying a house, AND I can now officially rent a car! What else is left, right? =)

For all you who have done this whole house-buying thing, let me know if you have any tips or advice, or if you like Lowe's or Home Depot better for buying paint and supplies, or if you have any fantastic office organizational resources. And sometime soon I'll post some pictures of our new little abode, which you will all be welcome to come visit... you just might have to wait until January to do so.

Take the Stairs

Building off of the previous post... one easy way to build in that exercise is to take the stairs! Check out this sweet experiment, and reminisce about the floor piano way back in the day at FAO Schwarz while you're at it:

Thinking Pink

Some members of our school/work "team" who walked to support my coworker, during the Susan G. Komen 5K walk in Philadelphia last month.

I know October is over, and thus Breast Cancer Awareness month has "officially" ended, but I seem to have been slapped in the face this year with dear women in my life facing breast cancer and the threat of it, and I see no reason to lock discussion of it away to just one month during the year.

In the past 6 months, my boss/coworker was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer and is still being treated and fighting it, my aunt (on my mom's side) had a double mastectomy in August, my high school youth pastor was diagnosed in September and is going through chemo (while her husband and sons are in Azerbaijan, teaching and doing ministry), and my mom had a surgery last week to remove what turned out to be a benign lump.

So, let's talk. (And, as a disclaimer, I am NOT an expert on this. This is just gathered from my personal experiences, conversations, and a small bit of research on the matter.)

It's estimated that about 10% of breast cancer cases are inherited through the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. On my mom's side, my great-grandmother died of breast cancer, and my grandma and two aunts (including the one who just had a double mastectomy) have survived it. My mom has to get mammograms every 6 months because of her risk. Also, my grandmother on my dad's side died of ovarian cancer. The odds don't necessarily look that great for me and my sisters.

However, there is something that could help. Although it's still controversial for some people, there is genetic testing available if it seems that breast cancer (or ovarian cancer) run in your family. I am actually not sure if my mom has had the testing done, but if she has and she is negative for either of the abnormal genes, then my sisters and I may be ok. However, I personally am considering having it done anyway. The presence of an abnormal gene doesn't mean that someone will absolutely get breast cancer - it just means there's a higher risk and that you need to be much more aware and responsible with care and check-ups. For instance, instead of starting your yearly mammograms at 40, you should talk to your doctor about when to start (which could be much younger, and/or more frequently - and you should also have your doctor give you an examination every year during your physical check-up).

Going back to the other 90% of cases that are not inherited, there are a few key points to take note of (and what I really want you women reading this to take into consideration). Most of the factors that cause you to be more at risk for breast cancer are out of your control -- if you're female, have a family history of breast cancer, and getting older (men can get breast cancer, too, but only account for about 1% of all breast cancer cases). HOWEVER, there is one thing you can control: exercise.

Recent studies have shown that regular exercise is linked to preventing breast cancer, and then also improving your chances of survival if you are diagnosed with breast cancer -- especially in women over 50. Take a look at some statistics, reported on breastcancer.org:

• Women who exercise regularly throughout their lifetimes are 20% less likely to develop breast cancer compared to women who don't regularly exercise.
• Women in their 50s who regularly exercise more after age 50 than they did before age 50 are 34%-41% less likely to develop breast cancer compared to women who don't exercise more after age 50.
• Regular, moderate intensity exercise helps lower breast cancer risk no matter a woman's weight, family history of breast cancer, or menopausal status. In short, just about every woman can lower her breast cancer risk by regularly exercising at moderate intensity.
  

So, in short, exercise always helps... and it's never too late to start. I don't know about you, but those statistics are pretty powerful, especially since we're just talking about prevention here (it's also very important if you are diagnosed with breast cancer - improving your survival rate by almost 50%).

What is it that makes exercise so important? Well, from what I can gather, for the 90% of people with non-inherited breast cancer, it's got a lot to do with hormones. Many breast tumors are fed by estrogen... and, as one site explains, the more fat you have on your body, the more estrogen you produce because fat cells contain enzymes that increase estrogen production. Also consider that physical activity affects the circulation of your hormones, and may lower your estrogen levels if you are more active.

Exercising may not be the end-all magic answer, but it definitely is a huge factor. Add in eating well, maintaining a healthy weight (which exercise obviously helps with), getting yearly check-ups and/or mammograms, and perhaps even getting genetic testing, and you're in a much better place than doing nothing. While you may not be able to have a foolproof prevention method, you'll have a much better chance of catching things early on if you are diagnosed, and being able to successfully get treatment and survive. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a pretty good to for me, and one I want for my mom, sisters, and other women in my life.

If you would like to learn more about breast cancer, you can follow the numerous links, and if you'd like to make a donation to breast cancer research, you can visit the well-known Susan G Komen Foundation's website. They also have a LOT of information about breast cancer, as well as links to various support groups, places to share your story, and ways to get involved.

This is important. Make sure you and especially the women in your life are thinking pink. Please don't ignore this... make sure you, your mom, your sisters, your wife, your aunt, your coworkers... whomever! Make sure they're working to take care of themselves and that they are DEFINITELY getting checked yearly. Trust me - it can make all the difference in the world.