Meatballs and Mexican.

We don't get much Tex-Mex in Nebraska so I've figured out how to make Tex-Mexaska. Here are my enchiladas accompanied by frijoles negros and spanish rice. Also, homemade salsa made by a Nebraskan. Yum!

We were given "Porcupine Meatballs" as a wedding gift. I was very disappointed to find out they weren't made with porcupine meat but had rice in them that pokes you while you chew. They were very good anyway.

Brewing.

Phil's at it again. He set up his little brewery in the garage to keep a warm. He tries to get me to sit with him by telling me it's a cozy 50 degrees out there. I stay in the house and decide I'll sit with him when he's finished, inside, and drink what he's brewed in our 50 degree garage.

Please note the crazed look in his eyes. It's not from the propane, but the Nutty Bar he's stuffing his face with. It's a sickness, he can't just eat one of these, one pack that is, it must be 3, or 4 if I don't see him sneak off with another. I fear I'll loose him forever to little chocolate covered peanut butter wafers.

Sleigh Riding.

Yesterday we went to the park to do some sledding , or "sleigh riding" as the folks here call it. I was excited about how often they talked about riding in horse drawn sleds around here and couldn't wait for my turn to dash through the snow in a one horse open sleigh, but alas, I was confused. I had a hard time making myself go face first down this hill on my stomach, but mean old Phil pushed me. I decided it was fun after that and didn't have too much trouble the next time.

Mean old Phil chooses his path carefully for optimal speed and distance.

Unremarkable.

In addition to our tree, I've managed to put up a few other things Christmas in our home. Here's the wreath I made all by myself.

Phil's friends the Lepleys gave us these stockings with our names on them as a wedding gift!


An "Our First Christmas" ornament from Jud and Eugenie!

And now a word from Pastor Hale on what Christmas means. (Phil was asked by the local paper to submit a short message on this subject. He's gonna be famous with all 9786 people in the county.).

An Unremarkable Christmas

Does your Christmas seem a million miles away from Mary's miraculous birth of God in Bethlehem, the wise men divinely guided by the illustrious star, the angels sublimely singing God's praises in perfect harmony? We would like amiraculous, eye-opening, and awe-inspiring Christmas this year, like thefirst one. More likely, the real result of Christmas is strained relationships, stressful travel arrangements, crunched finances, and annoying preparation. At first glance, our Christmas seems unrelated to the first Christmas. At a closer look though, it is apparent that the actual meaning of Christmas is only truly grasped by those who are trapped in an ordinary, mundane, and unsettled life.

Mary had a strained relationship with Joseph, because it took an angel from heaven to convince Joseph not to ditch his pregnant fiance. The first Christmas was not a trouble-free or cozy get-a-way. Traveling to paying taxes is not glamorous or inspirational, but that is the only reason we sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Not only that, Joseph was at his wits end trying to find lodging, but was unprepared and out of luck. The wise men had a star to follow, but they were mostly clueless as to what they were doing. They were so confused they went to Herod, the wicked baby-killer, for advice on what they were looking for. Their journey was no cakewalk, it included struggles and detours. Finally, the shepherds in the country heard the angels sing, but they knew about tending animals, not peace, goodwill, and other profound concepts. They must have been perplexed---what learning or education did they have to understand the greatest news ever told? Why did the angels only tell the dull and ordinary shepherds what Christmas is about?

The story of Christmas is the story of normal, everyday people searching for relief and comfort from their commonplace struggles. The ordinary circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus tells of God's mercy to lowly and humble people. A miraculous baby was born among stressed, troubled, and mediocre people, in an unremarkable way. At the first Christmas, the remarkable was ordinary, to show us that the ordinary can be remarkable.

More Snow.

We got more snow this week! Lots of it. Good for angels, not for snowmen or igloos just yet, but we're trying. Phil's working on an igloo, so far all we have is Mt. Hale. We need a wetter snow apparently. At least the natives are finally starting to say it's cold. It's 10 degrees with a wind chill of -5 today. Cold.

Our driveway layered with snow and ice. Yuk.

This is when the big boys come out to shovel.

It's fun for about 3 minutes.

Tree!

Our first Christmas tree came out of ditch. Phil cut it down while no one was looking, then we ran for it. It's a little sparse and brown in some places, but we're both real proud of it. Prouder still of the stand he engineered for it, but unfortunately for all of you this is hidden under it's skirt. Sorry. It is something to see though.

This was Phil's idea of helping me decorate our tree. You don't know it but he's listening to a nerdy financial talk radio program he can't get enough of. Not very festive, but I made it all look so fun he eventually joined in.

Me, making it look fun.

Phil joining in.

Ice!

We had a nasty ice storm come through Bancroft yesterday. Phil and I stayed in and peeked outside every once in a while to see what frozen water does to things. Also, I drank hot chocolate and ate too many cookies.

Today the sun broke through to reveal a dazzling winter wonderland.

"O glorious Sun, now come,
Send forth Thy beams so cheering,
An guide us safely home."