crossrhodes

It is true you never forget how to drive a stick shift. I drove the VW today while Don took the van for an oil change. I miss my VW, rather, I miss the way it was when it was my car. The commercials weren’t lying… Volkswagens really are fun to drive.

Anyway, I picked out a really nice e-card for all of you. See your Christmas greeting here.

Finals are over and Don was just itching to see the city this weekend. Here we are at the Rockefeller Plaza where the famous Christmas tree lighting takes place each year. (Note to self: Never go to the city during the holidays!)

We crossed the Hudson via the Staten Island ferry. At the end of the night, we were at Canal St waiting for the NRW train to Whitehall St. At the last minute, Don insisted on hoppin on the 5 train instead. They both go downtown but the 5 stops at Bowling Green about 4 blocks from the ferry while the NRW Whitehall station is directly across the street. And I knew the ferry only ran every hour on Sundays so the NRW would’ve gotten us there faster. But nooooo. We had to run for the ferry and missed it anyway by 2 minutes and waited another hour for the last one. I thought to myself, yah know, I don’t give him directions when we’re up in Rochester. Don’t tell me where to go when you’re in my neck of the woods. (I’m just mad coz he made me run in my dress shoes and was sore from hip to toe the morning after :)

Apparently, the national security level was raised to orange that night. Had we not walked past the Fox News studio during a taping, we wouldn’t have known about it. That must’ve been how it was for people uptown while 9/11 was happening downtown. I bet those in Atlanta having breakfast in front of their TV knew what was happening before New Yorkers uptown could catch their train to the WTC. Scary.

Currently reading… “Daily Study Bible for Women“

Once again I am amazed at the magnificence of God! He has been challenging my faith through my marriage. Just as I replied, “Lord, I can’t do this” or “I don’t know how”, He jumped out of my Bible with answers to questions I’ve been struggling with most.

There is a discipline I always thought was the sole responsibility of a man. For years I stood by and waited, stubbornly refusing to take action myself. Then I realized I wasn’t sure if my belief was Biblical or merely cultural conditioning. In fact, it is both. Husbands AND WIVES are called to do this. (I realize this is kind of vague but there is a limit to how much personal information I share online :)

His word truly is a fire that moves us to action and hammers through the hardest of hearts. [Jeremiah 23:29] Hence, my prayer is that of King David’s - that His word be hidden my heart so I won’t sin against Him - because hearing my Abba Daddy’s instructions is one thing. DOING it is another. (Can I get a witness?!?!)

You know the holiday season has begun when the days are so busy you forget what you did yesterday :)

We were in James’ school two nights in a row last week for a sports award ceremony (soccer) and band winter concert. He’s a 3 year veteran on trombone and eager to try new instruments. He played the baritone very well in advanced band this year. At some point he attempted to play the tuba (the infamous instrument his father and grandfather and maybe even great grandfather played). Poor kid, I felt so bad watching his skinny little body haul that gigantic thing on and off the bus every day :) I remember one night while chatting online with my father-in-law, I heard James honking notes upstairs in his bedroom while his father hummed in duet from office downstairs. My father-in-law said I should capture that moment in writing… so here it is. He has since given up the tuba. Now he’s dying to get his hands on a sax.

Last weekend James and his band members braved the wind chill to play outdoors in the village. No, not Greenwich downtown in NYC to which I always referred to when I said, “The Village”. Now the village I refer to is a historic main street community down the road from my McTownhouse community (e-i-e-i-ohhh). He really enjoys playing music. That’s interesting because throughout his early childhood James displayed strong tendencies in the math and sciences. However, I have observed lately that he is developing into an arts and music type of teenager. Don is probably hoping to raise another engineer but it seems James is finding his identity in the arts. I’d never known a teenage boy who listens to every genre of music from rap to ragtime (yes, ragtime!) and international jazz in between. Besides music, he is already reading high school level literature. He loved Of Mice And Men by my favorite author, the late Mr. Steinbeck.

This Christmas he really wants a camera, not your average 35mm point and shoot camera but an SLR he can customize for artistic photography. My late lolo (grandfather) was an avid photographer and passed down his cameras to all his grandchildren. James has asked me several times to borrow it but I’ve never used it myself because of its sentimental value. I clean it now and then but it goes back into its bag in the closet. So Don and I are looking for a good, refurbished SLR for his Christmas present.

Speaking of Christmas presents, I got a $150 gift certificate to Target from my company. Originally, it was $150 to Tiffany’s but I swapped it for Target at our company Christmas party last night. Honestly, how many things could I buy at Tiffany’s for $150? And I don’t even like to wear jewelry. For $150 at Target, I could walk out with a cart full of stuff for the house! That was such a fun party! The shrimp were huge! The raw oysters and clams were so fresh. The flaky crust on the baked brie went very well with the smoked salmon. And those were just the appetizers! For the main entree, we had fillet mignon with our choice of bernaise or jous, tender breast fillets of duck, and fat lobster tails! We hired a company to bring in casino tables. I learned to play Russian Roulette for the first time AND tripled half of my chips at the end of the night (the other half of my chips Don lost on the first round). Thank goodness we weren’t playing with real money. Although it was just play money, I felt my stomach falling every time I bet a chip on the table. I cannot imagine how people do this for real with their hard earned money. Life is stressful enough as it is!

I received the following from my friend, Troy, this morning. I believe the message is worth broadcasting. (BTW, I’ve been trying to convince him that he’s a gifted writer and ought to start a blog himself.)

I was watching the news today about the capture of Saddam Hussein and I began to ponder the similarity of his life and the sinful nature of man. Saddam spent 24 years as the brutal dictator of Iraq. 24 years of fulfilling his every desire without fear of any retaliation. 24 years of pleasure. Now after nine months as a fugitive he has been captured and will soon face judgment for his crimes against humanity, his lack of morality, his lack of compassion, and his lack of mercy. He will soon be at the mercy of justice.

Merry Christmas and may God bless and keep you in this Holiday Season!