One of the cool things about this blog is that Google lets us see what parts of the country are looking at our blog. There are the obvious locations like Miami (my family), Texas (Catherine's grandparents), Virginia (most of our friends), and scattered locations like Missoula (that's in Montana...), Chicago, and even England. One of Catherine's friends is in Japan so we see that too. It has been weird, though, seeing that our blog has been viewed once in Russia (we don't know anyone who lives in Russia) and once in China (we think we know someone who is traveling around China.) Anyways, hello to all our friends and family around the google map who read our blog.
We both just got home from the Saturday service at TFC. Tonight, John Yates preached on God doing new things, both in our local church, in our national and international Anglican church, and in our lives.
Tomorrow after church I'm flying to Atlanta, where I'll be leading worship for an Alpha Training Conference. I always enjoy these conferences, but it's never fun being away from Catherine. All of you who are married know how this feels, I'm sure. The conference is being held at the Atlanta Salvation Army Temple. I was talking with their sound engineer this past week and he told me that on Sunday mornings there, in addtion to their worship team, they have a 30-piece brass orchestra. I had no idea Salvation Army churches had bands like that. Unfortunately at this conference, it will only be me. Sure would be a blast (no pun intended) to play with their band though.
I'm off to go help with dinner. Catherine's cooking (thank goodness...)
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
This week
This has been a busy week - maybe one of the busiest Jamie has had since we've been married. For some reason every evening was filled with one-time meetings or events. It was all great stuff - but too much. Most nights he didn't get home until 9 or 10 pm. I know that's semi-normal for some No VA couples, but I'm glad its not the norm for us! It was especially yucky on such a strange and heavy week. The VA Tech shootings definitely seemed to define the week (and probably much longer for most people) and the weather seemed to reflect the sadness and chaotic feeling of the moment.
It was so good to have Friday off together (especially with the nicer weather!). We got to rest, spend the day together, and have friends over for dinner. We laughed till we cried playing a board game called "Loaded Questions". I highly recommend it - especially with friends that you know pretty well!
Saturday was back to the grind - at least for Jamie. It was a long day, although in the end the big CANA ordination service was good. I think we were both struck by the powerful image of probably 10 priests/ministers crowded around each ordinand praying with laying of hands. We loved that each man's wife was included in the prayers and got to put his stole over him. And that Angela (the bishop's wife) blessed each of the wives with the words, "Be an evangelist. Love your husband through the power of the Holy Spirit." I think most pastor's wives struggle at some point with the fact that, even though their husband is the one employed by the church, they are expected to be a huge part of their husband's ministry. (I think both Truro and TFC are good at not expecting this as much.) But either way, ministry is a pretty life-encompassing job. Of all jobs, it has to be one of the hardest to "leave at work", partly because if you're in ministry, it doesn't feel like its just a job: it is a part of who you are. I loved that at this ordination service (not sure if it is the same at every ordination service), they took that role of the spouse seriously. It may not be a paid position, but it can be a full time job to be a pastor's wife.
Today was good, but busy too. TFC is a good place to be for both of us. Its taking a while for me (Catherine) to feel at home there, I think mostly because I felt SO at home at Truro, but the people are wonderful, friendly, and definitely reach out. I'm starting to make some good friends there. Today after the 11 am service, something fun happened that made me feel more at home! Jamie and I were standing talking to a friend and I felt a little body crash into my leg. The 2 yr old son of another friend is a sturdy little guy who loves wrestling and other such physical activity. I guess he had decided to make me the target of what I can only call one of his "love crashes". I'd seen him do it to others, but I felt very privileged to be the recipient of it myself! (Oh the little things in life!)
After church and lunch we headed over to Truro for the program they put on for Martyn's last Sunday there. The program was fun and it was great to see so many Truro people. We ended up staying for about 2 hours after the program ended just talking to people, etc. We saw our pregnant friend Meghan and our friend Molly's new baby. (I don't think we even saw Molly pregnant this time.) And tons of youth group kids and parents. We felt loved! One thing I said to Jamie as we left is that I love the way Truro is the kind of church that kids grow up at. Ricky and Nik brought out a chair for Martyn during the program and it struck me that before them it was Peter and Jake and after them it will probably be Ethan and Anthony. There are always those kids/teens who have been at Truro forever and step in to help out with stuff, as well as new students who are grafted in to the community. Anyway, it was good to see everyone there.
Well, it was a weekend full of church, and tomorrow its back to work! But tonight we're spending the evening vegging: watching tv, blogging, etc. And its good to get to be in it together.
It was so good to have Friday off together (especially with the nicer weather!). We got to rest, spend the day together, and have friends over for dinner. We laughed till we cried playing a board game called "Loaded Questions". I highly recommend it - especially with friends that you know pretty well!
Saturday was back to the grind - at least for Jamie. It was a long day, although in the end the big CANA ordination service was good. I think we were both struck by the powerful image of probably 10 priests/ministers crowded around each ordinand praying with laying of hands. We loved that each man's wife was included in the prayers and got to put his stole over him. And that Angela (the bishop's wife) blessed each of the wives with the words, "Be an evangelist. Love your husband through the power of the Holy Spirit." I think most pastor's wives struggle at some point with the fact that, even though their husband is the one employed by the church, they are expected to be a huge part of their husband's ministry. (I think both Truro and TFC are good at not expecting this as much.) But either way, ministry is a pretty life-encompassing job. Of all jobs, it has to be one of the hardest to "leave at work", partly because if you're in ministry, it doesn't feel like its just a job: it is a part of who you are. I loved that at this ordination service (not sure if it is the same at every ordination service), they took that role of the spouse seriously. It may not be a paid position, but it can be a full time job to be a pastor's wife.
Today was good, but busy too. TFC is a good place to be for both of us. Its taking a while for me (Catherine) to feel at home there, I think mostly because I felt SO at home at Truro, but the people are wonderful, friendly, and definitely reach out. I'm starting to make some good friends there. Today after the 11 am service, something fun happened that made me feel more at home! Jamie and I were standing talking to a friend and I felt a little body crash into my leg. The 2 yr old son of another friend is a sturdy little guy who loves wrestling and other such physical activity. I guess he had decided to make me the target of what I can only call one of his "love crashes". I'd seen him do it to others, but I felt very privileged to be the recipient of it myself! (Oh the little things in life!)
After church and lunch we headed over to Truro for the program they put on for Martyn's last Sunday there. The program was fun and it was great to see so many Truro people. We ended up staying for about 2 hours after the program ended just talking to people, etc. We saw our pregnant friend Meghan and our friend Molly's new baby. (I don't think we even saw Molly pregnant this time.) And tons of youth group kids and parents. We felt loved! One thing I said to Jamie as we left is that I love the way Truro is the kind of church that kids grow up at. Ricky and Nik brought out a chair for Martyn during the program and it struck me that before them it was Peter and Jake and after them it will probably be Ethan and Anthony. There are always those kids/teens who have been at Truro forever and step in to help out with stuff, as well as new students who are grafted in to the community. Anyway, it was good to see everyone there.
Well, it was a weekend full of church, and tomorrow its back to work! But tonight we're spending the evening vegging: watching tv, blogging, etc. And its good to get to be in it together.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Taxes and Williamsburg
Taxes are done. And, would you believe, we got a very generous refund from Uncle Sam. Thanks, US governement! I used TurboTax this year, and it was fairly easy. One cool thing was the "refund" tally in the left hand corner the whole time. It kept going up! Last year I had to pay a lot of money for some reason, so it's quite nice to have a year when they owe me. Pay up.
Catherine and I went to Williamsburg yesterday and had a good time. This weekend the students led worship at church, so we took that as a chance to have a weekend off together.
Here's me in one of the Williamsburg shops:
Catherine and I went to Williamsburg yesterday and had a good time. This weekend the students led worship at church, so we took that as a chance to have a weekend off together.
Here's me in one of the Williamsburg shops:
And finally, here's Catherine showing the reason why I went by "James" in school...
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Recipes
I thought it might be fun to post some of the recipes that Jamie and I like...well, eating together (although Jamie does sometimes help a little...and he does most of the dishes!) So here are some of our/my favorites in no particular order.
Lettuce wraps
Yummy, yummy. "Brown" 99% fat free ground turkey with a whole bunch of sesame ginger dressing until turkey is cooked. Turn the heat off and add grated carrots, chopped green onion and sliced almonds. Pile a couple tablespoons of the meat mixture into the each of the middles of romaine or iceburg lettuce leaves. Serve with rice. And I tried stirfry vegetables, but that didn't work out well...mostly because I substituted red wine vinegar for rice vinegar. LOL.
Banana Waffles
This is Jamie's favorite dessert/breakfast. Put chocolate chips into the squares of frozen waffles. Bake. Top with chopped bananas, whipped cream, and syrup. It makes me feel sick to think about how sweet it is, but sometimes it hits the spot.
Resurrection Biscuits
I actually got this recipe from a patient at our office. I made them for Easter and thought they were cool, but I have to be honest and say that's the only time I made them and we didn't finish the batch I made, even though I only made eight. But they're a fun Easter thing - especially if you have more than 2 people in your family! Get Pillsbury biscuits in a can. I think I used southern style. Gently pull each biscuit around a large marshmallow. Pinch the seams, so the marshmallow is completely encased and secure. :) Dip the biscuit covered marshmallow in melted butter and then roll in cinnamon sugar (1Tbsp cinnamon to 1 cup of sugar). Place biscuits seams down on parchment paper covered cookie tray. (Or a friend at work used cupcake paper thingies in a muffin pan.) Bake at 350 degrees (or whatever the biscuit container says) for approximately 10 minutes. When you bite into the biscuits you'll see why they're appropriate for Easter.
Chicken and Onions
This is the last one and probably long.
Carmelize some onions. (Chop onions in slices, put them and butter in a frying pan, add garlic, crushed red pepper, brown sugar - like 1 teaspoon or a little more -, yellow spice if you have it, stir around until they're floppy and kind of brown.) Take onions out of pan. Put chicken in pan and cook so that both sides are slightly brown and the inside is white (not pink, silly). You might need to add more butter at some point. When chicken is cooked through, but not overly cooked, add the onions back in and pour some sherry in (maybe a cup?). Let the sherry boil a while until the sauce is a bit thicker. Serve chicken with onions over the top and shredded extra sharp cheddar (costco's is great!) over the top of that. Serve with pasta and yummy salad.
Craveable Salad
Well, at least I've been craving it recently. Chop romaine lettuce into small bite size pieces. Add chopped red bell pepper. Add chopped green onion. Add lots of feta cheese. For salad dressing: basil vinegarette(sp?) from Wegmans.
Lettuce wraps
Yummy, yummy. "Brown" 99% fat free ground turkey with a whole bunch of sesame ginger dressing until turkey is cooked. Turn the heat off and add grated carrots, chopped green onion and sliced almonds. Pile a couple tablespoons of the meat mixture into the each of the middles of romaine or iceburg lettuce leaves. Serve with rice. And I tried stirfry vegetables, but that didn't work out well...mostly because I substituted red wine vinegar for rice vinegar. LOL.
Banana Waffles
This is Jamie's favorite dessert/breakfast. Put chocolate chips into the squares of frozen waffles. Bake. Top with chopped bananas, whipped cream, and syrup. It makes me feel sick to think about how sweet it is, but sometimes it hits the spot.
Resurrection Biscuits
I actually got this recipe from a patient at our office. I made them for Easter and thought they were cool, but I have to be honest and say that's the only time I made them and we didn't finish the batch I made, even though I only made eight. But they're a fun Easter thing - especially if you have more than 2 people in your family! Get Pillsbury biscuits in a can. I think I used southern style. Gently pull each biscuit around a large marshmallow. Pinch the seams, so the marshmallow is completely encased and secure. :) Dip the biscuit covered marshmallow in melted butter and then roll in cinnamon sugar (1Tbsp cinnamon to 1 cup of sugar). Place biscuits seams down on parchment paper covered cookie tray. (Or a friend at work used cupcake paper thingies in a muffin pan.) Bake at 350 degrees (or whatever the biscuit container says) for approximately 10 minutes. When you bite into the biscuits you'll see why they're appropriate for Easter.
Chicken and Onions
This is the last one and probably long.
Carmelize some onions. (Chop onions in slices, put them and butter in a frying pan, add garlic, crushed red pepper, brown sugar - like 1 teaspoon or a little more -, yellow spice if you have it, stir around until they're floppy and kind of brown.) Take onions out of pan. Put chicken in pan and cook so that both sides are slightly brown and the inside is white (not pink, silly). You might need to add more butter at some point. When chicken is cooked through, but not overly cooked, add the onions back in and pour some sherry in (maybe a cup?). Let the sherry boil a while until the sauce is a bit thicker. Serve chicken with onions over the top and shredded extra sharp cheddar (costco's is great!) over the top of that. Serve with pasta and yummy salad.
Craveable Salad
Well, at least I've been craving it recently. Chop romaine lettuce into small bite size pieces. Add chopped red bell pepper. Add chopped green onion. Add lots of feta cheese. For salad dressing: basil vinegarette(sp?) from Wegmans.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Favorite Wedding Photos
Knowing that many of you who are checking here have not seen any of our wedding photos yet, I thought I would upload some of my favorite photos from the wedding. Some of them are meaningful because they're representative or great pictures of people we love, but some I just like because of the colors or interesting views. I'll put them in the following posts. :)
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
The beginning of the ceremony. I definitely think the acolytes at Truro are some of the coolest and best trained acolytes ever in the history of the world. No sloppiness there. :)
Plus it was really cool to have acolytes I knew. I had Alden, the one carrying the cross, in my group at SB2W camp when he was in like 4th grade. :)
Watching me come in.
Plus it was really cool to have acolytes I knew. I had Alden, the one carrying the cross, in my group at SB2W camp when he was in like 4th grade. :)
Watching me come in.
Wedding Pictures
This cake was given to us by friend from England, and then it was decorated by people at Truro - I think Tricia Tabb. :)
Jamie and Tim MacGowan
Jamie and Tim MacGowan
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