Well actually I dont feel really fine. I started to feel sick over the weekend but I really dont get sick often and when I do, I try to fight it by keeping doing things. Not rest like most people would. I took down wallpaper. Monday morning is when the worst of it hit. People say its been going around, thanks for whoever gave it to me. Of all the weeks, this was just not the week to get sick. Why? Well let see…

Im in the middle of planning a New Years Eve dance for about 100 high schoolers. Lots and lots to do the week of the dance and I handed a meeting over to my boss that I just simply couldnt attend. The stomach wouldnt allow me, hated that.

My old roommate is getting married this Saturday and she asked me to take the photos. Im happy to do that for her, and really hope to be 100% better by the wonderful day. Really hard for me to think quick when Im sick let alone creative!

Im working on my new room (hence the taking down of wallpaper) and trying to pack up my old one. I have so much packing to do but little energy to do it – or time for that matter! 17th is coming very quickly!

Im house sitting for my friends who I agreed to do so for ages before I knew I had to move. Thankfully their dog is behaving much better this time around than last time. I dont even want to think about having to pick up poop while feeling sick myself.

Oh and my car got a hit and run last week. Yeah. Right before Christmas. I was out caroling – you know, bringing Christmas cheers to others and someone backs up into my driver side door. So Gwen is out getting a new door. Thats costing a pretty penny in deducible. Thankfully, the friends who Im house sitting for are letting me use their car, saving me the rental car expense.

Im now short on hours at Starbucks for giving up my shift and not being able to pick any hours due to said NYE dance and wedding. I know it will work out. Trying not to stress about the fact I just may lose my benefits.

So, there is just a lot to be worrying out about. Im not for some reason. But I would like for things to stop coming all at once, you know? I mean, my gosh dont I have enough going on and being sick on top of that? Im ranting a bit much I know. I just trying to sort through some thoughts of all that is going on my life and trying not to go crazy with it.

Want a great way to end the year isnt it? I am looking forward to this dance, should be fun, even if we lack adult staff. The kids have worked hard to put it together. The wedding is one I have been looking forward to. So there is beauty in the madness, I just like to have more beauty than madness if you know what I mean.

Kari wrote it better than I, along with photos I did not take. Im moving in with Big Bunny and the Baumanns come mid January and they are letting me paint my new room! Taking down wallpaper is a small way of saying thanks to them for a place to live and allowing me to have my brown walls. I enjoyed taking down wall paper much more than I thought I would. Im ready to tackle the hall bathroom – after that, I think that house is wallpaper free.

Tonight we took communion, making me think of Christ’s death as I sang about his birth. The two stories are both so important in so many different ways. Tonight though, I think of his birth, not the happy picture a lot times we paint, but what really what went down that night in Bethlehem.

It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David’s town

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love
For little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
It was a labor of love

by Andrew Peterson

Rest can be seen on my flickr . Enjoy

Last night I saw “Behold the Lamb of God” by Andrew Peterson. It was my first time seeing the show, not in Nashville. If you know anything about this Christmas concert, you know the show is a bit bigger in Nashville with it being held at the Ryman and more well known artists in the mix of the familiar staples that makes up the 10 piece band of the BTLOG tour. I was expecting it to be a little less impactful somehow not seeing it at the Ryman. While it did feel different, I wasnt with the same community of friends who first got me into this show in the first place. Instead I was with my new beloved community here in town who I talked their hears off to come see the show. Needless the say, it was just an impactful as has been every year before I have seen it. The church where I work really did a stand up job on making the evening a wonderful one.

Im stealing this little peice of a blog post from Andrew’s community blog, rabbitroom.com:

“Upcoming BTLOG attendees, you are most definitely in for a treat. Indeed, you will be part of the treat. With each round of that phrase (I believe He is the Christ, Son of the Living God), the intensity of emotion ratchets higher and wider. And it’s not emotion for emotion’s sake; it’s emotional truth boring ever deeper into our being, and it’s one of the most profoundly moving sounds I’ve ever heard.

The season is here. Don’t miss the opportunity to sing “Silver Bells.” Drink some eggnog; eat some Christmas cookies. Kiss somebody under the mistletoe. Drive around and look at the lights. And by all means, attend and support your local Christmas pageant. But if you crave something more, something real, something that will simultaneously rock your world with truth, and cultivate peace and joy in your spirit, consider making Behold the Lamb of God, The True Tall Tale of the Coming of Christ, a new family tradition. It has everything to do with the real, true meaning of Christmas, and nothing to do with the paltry imitation.”

Its true, you are completely apart of the treat that is BTLOG show. Familiar faces from years of listening to their music before me. Watching a community of friends play music together while I sit with my community of friends is one of the best things ever. Hearing the words that I know to be true, but singing truth into my life backed with amazing music is hard to beat. I was completely excited before the show to come and now Im simply delighted that it was yet again part of my Christmas time tradition.

Even though we should be packing rather than unpacking Christmas decorations, my roommates and I are not going to let our current landlord take away our Christmas cheer with his lovely letter making us find a new place to live. My one roomie, Karen and I went out this past week to find ourselves a proper Christmas tree. We entertained the though of just strapping it down on the top of my car, but thankfully Brian said he’d help us out with his truck. He took photos of our Christmas tree picking outting but its on my new camera… that currently isnt talking to my computer… so stay tuned for those (and Thanksgiving photos).

Isnt Linus the second just lovely? It looks so tiny in this photo and while it isnt a huge tree its not that small. Just a perfect size for our small little home. Our first and last Christmas in this house. My other roomie, Laura, saw all my Starbucks cups on the tree and thought it was a work related theme. Thats just sorta sad now isnt it? I didnt mean to make it a work theme! Lets focus on a different ornament…

Hippo ornament! Isnt he so cute? This is the first time since Alabama Ive pulled out my Christmas decorations and its been fun to unwrap all my ornaments that Ive been collecting. Maybe I will have too many boxes someday just like my mom. Speaking of my parents, I beat you right now their house is filled with poinsettias. That is the perk of growing up in a plant family, always flowers of some kind around. I cant fill my whole house with poinsettias as much as Id like but…

Tiny poinsettia for the tiny house. The little green pot there is a mini Christmas tree thats growing! Maybe by next Christmas time I’ll have myself a little tree. The white pot are my herbs that have come back to life after lack of water during my summers trip. Im surprised they have lasted this long actually, but I really do love my little herbs.

Oh yeah, Ive been packing a bit this week while Jason has finals. Next week I think every night but one is taken up with a get-together or a holiday themed thing. Im really looking forward to all of them, I know I wont have time to tackle any packing. All my books are packed (hence the boxes on the shelf where they once where) but notice to the left all my movies and TV shows are not packed. I mean, what would I watch while I pack the rest of my stuff up? Oh and my brown walls?! That was one of the first things I was very sad to leave about this house, my brown walls that Jason painted or me while I was away on a youth trip. But I can have brown walls again because my new landlords, Mike and Kari, are awesome and I am so thankful for their friendship extending to housemates.

I know, its just plain sad isnt it? All my hippos packed away in a box. I know they’ll be happy in their new home with new brown walls with Big Bunny.

Thanks again for those of you who gave your advice on what songs to get. Heres what I ended up collecting from iTunes to help make my Christmas 2008 mix:

Frosty the Snowman – Fiona Apple (I dont really care for Frosty or Fiona Apple for that matter, but I love this little folky spin she gave it on this verison)

O Come Let Us Adore Him- Shane and Shane (High schooler influence. While I used to be a bigger Shane and Shane fan, I havnt listened to them for years until most of the kids are stuck on them.)

The Chipmunk Song – Chipmucks (This was a given. I cant believe I spent so many Christmas time without this song)

Grown Up Christmas List – Kelley Clarkson (Alright, I like song fine. Though the little clip did not preview the choir in the background. Hate it when song sneak in choirs like that! All choir or not at all!)

Carol of the Bells – The Bird and the Bess (I actucally got this one for free! Thank you free iTunes blog)

Christmas for Two – Sixpence None the Richer (This might be my favorite out of all the new songs I got this year.)

I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas – Gayla Peevey (Oh man, I love this song a little too much. What year was this recorded? Anyone know?)

Juggle Bell Rock – Bobby Helms (This is just classic Christmas right here. Cant help but dance a little or sing along)

My Dear Acquaintance (A Happy New Year) Regina Spektor (Okay so this is a New Years song, but the sound of it makes it fit right in with the Christmas songs. And you of course need a ending to the mix, this one is perfect. Also a freebie!)

Maybe I’ll post my Christmas Mix 2008 later.

I feel like on this blog I have talked about moving a lot. Though, moving has always been riddled through out my whole life. I havnt been asked to move, Ive always chosen to move (or my family has). The roomies and I asked the landlord for a little bit more time – February 1st instead of January 17th (moving during birthday week? No!). The answer? Nope. Not any sort of a budge. We have to be out by the 17th of January. Merry Christmas to us! I packed half of my books tonight, stopped only because I ran out of tape and wasnt up for a Target run. Jason asked why packing so soon, with the busy holiday season in full swing, any spare time I get, I feel like I should be sorting through stuff and packing. Its time now to pull out that pro list to why moving is a good thing because it just makes me sad to be partly in boxes.

Let me share with you part of a letter I received yesterday afternoon:

“This letter serves as a 45 day notice to terminate your lease as of January 17, 2009.”

Out of 8 total sentences in this letter, this is the second one. One that could be spoken to my roommates and myself since my room sits right above my landlords office. We share a two story house, and have for two years. Six weeks ago, my friend signed a lease to move in. December 2nd, that all changed.

After I read this letter, I was in a wave of emotion. Really sad, as I looked around at my brown walls, I love my brown walls. I called to share with my roommate, the one who had just moved in six weeks ago, to tell her the news. She was pretty upset and who could blame her? Why have someone move in when you are even thinking of doing this? Getting a couple months rent, thats really nice. I didnt call my other roommate, who was in the middle of a long 14 hour shift. I called Jace and read him the letter. I started to cry for a numbers of reasons when asked “What are you thinking?”

I know God will provide – He has already reminded me that I will have a roof over my head with a handful of offers from friends who offered my their spare room (but only one with a Big Bunny). Though that doesnt mean this isnt hard and put a lot of unknowns out there. My little house is going to try and look for a place together. We’ve moved on from bitterness to the pros we will have at our new place. Washer and Dryer! Living room! Dishwasher! Still, Im sad to have to leave my downtown apartment that Ive grown to really like. Moving is a pain and especially in the middle of Christmas time.

Wish me luck as I look for a new home.

After four days off from both jobs, I want to say I could get used to this. Not to say that the time off (I havnt had more than two days off in a row in over a year) wasnt really lovely, it was. Part of me felt like I needed to be somewhere the next morning. I checked my day planner more than once to be sure there wasnt anywhere I pre-planned to be. Its not strange to not have made anyone else coffee for four days.( I did make myself lots of coffee, Gingerbread Coffee from Trader Joes, which I highly recommend. It has bits of actual gingerbread in it, so when you grind the beans, oh just think of the wonderful smells I have in my house.) It was however strange to not see any high schoolers for other a week. Even when I return to my church job tomorrow, I wont see kids until Thursday. Again, while the Sunday night off was nice, I felt like I should be around kids. I dont know how to put into words how its strange this feeling is. Yes, its work but most of the time it really doesn’t feel like it since I enjoy it so much. So taking time off from those lives, its a new feeling Im wrestling with a bit.