MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

For we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the World.

--1 John 4:14

Merry Christmas.

More soon.

Fire update

Well, I guess I spoke a little too soon about having a season "between" fire and rainy seasons. As many of you know, Thursday a wildfire swept through our area. It moved extremely quickly--from J.D.'s "I smell smoke" around 5:45 to our neighbor's "you might wanna get some things together" at 5:55--when we could see the wall of flames up the hill, even as we felt the Santa Anas whipping past. We left for the shelter 15-20 minutes later.

We are all fine, and staying with a family from church who has offered us housing until our home is habitable again. We hope that will be soon, but there is some damage and there is yet danger in the area--so we're not sure when that will be. I hope to soon upload some of our photos, and give more detail. Life is right now a series of details to take care of, as you can imagine--please join me in thanking the Lord that he is in control of every one of those details, every one of us.

Pixie is feeling better and keeping food down.

Please pray for the children (not just ours), for when we return and they see the extent of the damage.

Many, many thanks. Hope to be in touch soon (hope to have my own computer with internet access soon!!)

Love,
F.C.

Sunset Season

I think sunset season falls just between fire season and rainy season...whatever the timing, we've been having some doozies for the first few weeks of November. We do have those other four seasons, too. However, as one of J.D.'s co-workers put it last year: "How do you like winter?...it's subtle." But boy, do we have either wet wet wet or tinder.



Pixie has started a dance studio in the front room. It involves lots of twirling and lots of asking me to be the teacher. I quit ballet after second grade (alas), mainly because ballet class was the same day my friend Niki could play after school, I think. So I do what I can, which isn't much. Anyway, Pixie fires up the electric keyboard on "autoplay" and goes to town.

Bud tucks in "Delicate Blue Baby" nearly every night at bedtime. If you ask Bud the baby's name, he says "Baby Wombles," but he actually only refers to him as "Delicate Blue Baby." He is Bud's son. Last night Bud explained to me that he was taking care of D.B.B. because he loves him. "Like you and Daddy take care of me, right, Mom?" [melt]

So today all of the children slept in until at least 6:00am--whoo-hoo! Wombles made up for any lost noise by spending much of the remaining get-ready-for-church window crawling around and blowing on Pixie's kazoo. It's amazing how much ruckus can be made with a little ingenuity and perseverance.

Today we actually had a fall day--hooray! (See sweatshirts). This evening Pixie and Bud got in a little batting practice with J.D. in the back yard.

Finally, tonight we introduced Wombles to a little helado. May we recommend Gingerbread Cookie ice cream? Bud exchanged his for peppermint, saying that G.C. was "too spicy." (Mmmm!) Wombles had no such complaint--and when J.D. finally said "OK, it's gone" Wombles burst out with "Nooooo!" We love the holiday ice cream flavors. I wonder whether we could stow enough in the garage freezer to keep us in egg nogg & peppermint all year??

Saturday Shenanigans

Another ordinary weekend at our house, if there can be such a thing. At lunchtime, Bud was instructed to go and wash his hands before eating...when he came to the table, he looked like this:

I hope that you can see the soap bubbles. His hair was totally slicked down with hand soap from the bathroom. He had decided he wanted to wash his hair.

Later in the afternoon, we were following the Bama/LSU game online (we don't get CBS). P & B were so excited about the Alabama win in OT (I know,we're twisting them for life) that Carmen wanted to call soon-to-be-Uncle Barrel and congratulate him (he is the Alabama fan, after all). Here is a picture of her on the phone. I'm pretty sure she actually said "Roll, Tide."

Finally, tonight we had three children join us for the evening for dinner and play. The youngest is Wombles' friend Santiago. The two of them currently have a love/screech thing going on (Wombles is a quicker draw to get the green car, but Santiago can walk and Wombles can't). Here they are in a cozy corner with the barn animals:

In case you've started to wonder, Wombles really does have other clothes besides the Notre Dame football jersey. But we often take photos on Saturdays, and if the Irish are playing, he's a-wearin'. Sure, that's the story...

Hair Cuts!

"Before" shots

Last spring, Pixie and I decided we were both going to get some pretty serious haircuts. I planned to give my hair to "Locks of Love," and after explaining this to her we spent a while online looking at different organizations that accept hair donations. She chose a different charity-- "Wigs for Kids." In Pixie's words: "They make wigs for kids whose hair falls out because they are getting medicine. The medicine is because they have the same kind of sick that Mr. F had, and the S..s' (our neighbors here) little girl had." Both John and Alyssa are with Jesus now.

She was really excited about donating her hair. I had a hard time letting go of it (her hair), but today we finally went together and took turns sitting in Sam's chair at Salon Monaco. As I was getting my hair cut, Pixie was bouncing off the walls and decided she wanted the EXACT same cut as me. Wombles and Bud were also sitting within arm's reach (Sam was SO PATIENT) for my cut, but I took them outside for most of Pixie's time. ...also, when it was time to go, Sam did not charge us for the haircuts. Amazing.

Before we came home we stopped at the Coffee Bean for treats for P & B (I took a mommy tax and shared with Wombles). I am proud of my little girl, and hope we can both continue to learn to not hold on too tightly to nonessentials.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had a wonderful birthday today. So maybe I got a little too much mileage all day with punning "Many Happy Returns," but the election did figure into a lot of the day. It was exciting and frustrating. For a household made up of a professional political theorist as well as a hobbyist (me), Calfornia's political system is a total disaster. Propositions, bonds, and candidates aside--the way this state is run makes me want to pull my hair out. It is, however, where God has placed us, and as I reflect on the ins and outs of la vida California, I acknowledge that as so much of life here is idyllic it is good when something like CA's political process exists: it reminds me to keep on longing for the good, reminds me that this beautiful place is far, far from Heaven.

It was so great to get so many phone calls on the 4th--I feel so loved. And I am very, very excited about J.D.'s incredibly generous birthday present!!

All Saints' Day

Wombles hits the Bounce House















Last year I wrote about Westmont College's Fall Fest (remember the palm trees and green grass?). We were back again this year for cookie decorating, crafts and --of course--the bounce house. This year Wombles was big enough to get in on the action and absolutely loved bouncing around with J.D., P & B, and some neighborhood friends.


Saturday night we had the pleasure of hosting the MacK.'s for the first night of their cross-country move to South Carolina. We will miss them so much, and were so glad to have the time with them (all 10 hours of it!).

Pixie says goodbye to Sugar and C.J.



Flora and Pixie

We were so tickled that Flora had been able to visit and hang out with us last summer! It was great to have her back.

C.J. and Bud

Bud has been praying at lunch for weeks: "Dear God, thank you for the food and that C.J. is my best friend. And for airplanes. Amen."

Effers the wondermunchkin!

Halloween

I was so happy to have a reason to be out walking at sunset on the 31st! The sky was so much like Heaven breaking in. We also had our first rain (a brief sprinkle) in MONTHS on the 31st.





Although J.D. did the actual carving, the traditional jack o' lantern time begins with Pixie and Bud getting their exact designs on paper...J.D. then carves to their specs. Bud wanted his to have a "BIG, round nose."




Thomas the Tank Engine and Tinkerbell after a night around the neighborhood and through a dorm on campus. The dorm was all done up for the kids with activities and candy.

Wombles gets a free ride, but no handouts. :)

Tinkerbell mid-face-painting-and-glitter

We got this photo and both saw how much Pixie is growing up. This year she asked me, "Is Halloween a holiday that we have to keep?" We traced it to our readings in the OT, with all of the feasts that must be kept. I explained that we are NOT required to "keep" Halloween. :)

More soon. We're off for a Sunday afternoon paseo, and soon therafter I hope to fill you in on our visit yesterday with the MacK's.

Time Warp

Happy Birthday-- Wombles is ONE!

September was a month of delights--an abundant garden, Wombles' birthday, a visit from Boppy and Grandma. J.D.and Westmont began their new semester. Also, Pixie started kindergarten and I started kindergarten, too. We have been having lots of fun at school in the mornings. When asked how it's going, I usually say that in any given week there's usually a fabulous day, an awful day, and a few normal, good days...just like when I was teaching in South Bend. We are all learning to be more flexible (I hope!) and to love each other better.

an evening harvest

the morning fog creeping up from the ocean

September was a very foggy-morning month, and it was fun to be above it this particular morning.

Midway through the birthday cake

bidding Grandma and Boppy farewell at the train station

OK, no promises, but I'm going to try to spend less time on Facebook and more time blogging... :) Next up: Halloween (ok, it's today, but I have no photos yet).