December 30: soup and salad

After the Gibson Family Fitness Plan brisk walk around Wooster, warm soup was just the thing!

December 29: ledger

Family history keeps popping up in my life over the last few weeks. Today as I was filing papers in my room I came across a folder of more family tree pages and this copy of a ledger from a ship on which some of my ancestors traveled to New York from Rotterdam in 1852. Though I have always thought of myself as an unidentifiable ethnic mutt (I mean that in the best, most American sense of the word), I was excited to realize that I could account for about fify percentage points of my ancestry. Drumroll please......I am 12% Swiss, 12% Irish, 12% Viennese, 6% Dutch, 6% Nova Scotian (if that is possible), and 50% I have no earthly idea! So that's fun.

December 28: power on

This is what happens when you leave your memory card at home and have to scramble to come up with something at the end of the day!

December 27: static

Today, I got a root canal....while it wasn't bad, my sweater in the laundry basket was about the extent of my creative expression. :)

December 26: when I grow up....

I want to be a watch model. My brother was in a fine mood this evening and told me that he thinks he has a career in hand modeling (if they could overlook the 13 football scars he has). This was his best offering - his pensive watch advertisement. oh my goodness, he never ceases to surprise me.

December 25: talking with Great Grandma

This is Joy, my cousin's little girl and my grandma. My grandma looked so pretty tonight with her Christmas outfit on and her pearl earrings and her hair all curled. It was probably the last Christmas party we'll ever have at my grandparent's house as they will be moving to an apartment soon. They have lived there for over fifty years! They moved there just a few months before my mom was born, so there is lots of history from her and her five siblings growing up there. And we've all smushed into that cozy bungalo for many different kinds of parties, card tournaments, and from what I understand even roller skating nights in the basement. When I was little, I took every opportunity I got to sleepover at their house. My grandma always let me sleep with the fan on (even in January) which I loved and my parents would never let me do -- understandably. And I think the most distinctive thing that I love about my grandparent's house is the way that my grandma always stands at the door when we drive away and blinks the light on and off until we're out of sight. That little gesture always means so much!

December 24: tinklin' the keys

This is the man my mom takes care of, Merritt. She had to work tonight, so our family went over to spend some time with Merritt too. We brought a full musical ensemble with us, including this keyboard which had lots of pre-loaded polkas and horrible midi big-band selections that Merritt could pluck along to. He especially likes Christmas carols with fa-la-la parts in them. It was really sweet. Merry Christmas to you all!

December 23: e-n-e-r-g-y

When I woke up this morning I was feeling a little sad. I've been surrounded by lovely people for the last week which I am so grateful for, but there is something about going to church by myself that makes me feel really lonely (especially when my students are gone for break). But my day didn't end up at all like I had expected. I felt like God had planned a whole day for me filled with many people I love...Here are a few nice memories from my day:

- an effortless rendition of my favorite Christmas carol, "O, Holy Night" at church
- Sitting next to Becca H. (I hope your family is feeling better!)
- "Can I have your grandama peez?" (My little friend Judah asking to use my camera, which he calls a grandama)
- Eating fried chicken and playing Waterworks with the Hembrees and the Millers!
- notice Benjamin gnawing on the slipper in the picture above :)
- a very friendly greeting at the Gibson's door (sorry about the tree :)
- The Hampton's warm house with lots of toys and a chocolate fountain
- Julie and Ellen playing music and 27 people squishing around to sing Christmas Carols
- Eleven children aged 7 or under taking their turn blowing out all the candles
- snow!

I hope you had lots of good little moments today too :)

December 22: love

My mom goes out of her way to make my life easier. My car was rather dirty after being parked under the train tracks for a few days. Before I left Cleveland, she came out with a soapy bucket to rinse it off.

December 21: Sebastian

Emily and I drove/sang our way home from Chicago this afternoon and arrived at her parent's house to find Mr. Graham and Sebastian, his quirky but endearing parrot.

December 20: Santa Express

Let's just say that I have a love for public transportation. Ever since I was little I thought of it as an amusement park ride all over the city. This is crazy, I realize, but I have never really grown out of this dilusion. So, when I go someplace new that has a train system of some sort I like to go for a ride - anywhere. I had never been on the "El" before, but Emily promised me we could go.

So, we set out for the station and were waiting for the red line on the platform and what to my wondering eyes did appear -- the blingy-est looking train I ever did see. there was tinsel all over it and blinking lights, and then an entire car length of open air where Christmas trees were planted and Santa was sitting out in the freezing cold open sleigh. It stopped, the doors opened and elves emerged handing us candy canes and welcoming us aboard. Mind you, I have never been on the El, but this did seem like a rather extravagent production. Very Polar Express like.

There was no indication what color or line this train was, but we got on just because it was so awesome looking. It was GREAT! The Chipmunk Christmas was playing and there were special candy cane poles. Someone had worked hard. Apparently, this is the special Santa Express train that mysteriously appears at various stops. I must say that I was disappointed that people on the Santa Express did not seem joyous at all -- as you can see here (not joyous). As for me though, I felt like one lucky girl -- it was the best public transportation display I've gotten to experience.

December 19: personal collection

Today I got to go to Wheaton! And I got to see two professors who helped me grow a lot this year in preaching and teaching. I was so glad that it worked out! Dr. Armstrong mentioned he had a library in his basement, which I presumed to mean a few bookshelves around the perimeter of the room. I was very wrong. This is not even a fifth of the collection! Pretty dazzling!

December 18: whoa, lamps!

I got to see the cooking school where Rob works which looked like fun. This lamp store was right next door. While it's not the most peace-invoking photo, I thought it was amazing that there were so many smushed into a small space. I counted 35 in this picture, but I could be off.

December 17: The Adams family...

Where people come to see 'em....they really are (ice) scream....The Adams family. Neat. Sweet. Sort of petite! The song does break down at some point.

It was freezing outside....so we went for ice cream of course! We had eggnog ice cream which was just as good as it sounded. I had a lovely stay with Rob and Emily in their new apartment.

December 16: sprinkles and more sprinkles

I was so excited to have some time with my Aunt Mary, Uncle Brian and cousins Therese and John. Family is an amazing thing. In spending time with my cousins it was so apparent to me that even though we haven't spent much time together, we have the same sense of humor and the same appreciation of stories and I suppose you could say the same flair for the dramatic. Some things run deep and I enjoyed discovering that. We decorated all sorts of cookies and I was having a great time with all the selections of frosting and sprinkles to choose from. We also all suffered from sugar-comas following this project.

December 15: snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes....

It was a perfect night to visit downtown for the first time -- the twinkle lights, all the people out shopping and watching street performers, the window displays and especially the beautiful snow! It's been so good to have a few days to be away from Wooster and let my spirit get revived after a very full semester. My friend Stephanie, who does the same job as me except at a campus in Illinois, is the guest photographer of the day!

What you might not guess from this picture was that we stayed at a monestary on the south side for a few days. I must say that it was a little surreal at times. I have to tell you about Brother Ignatius who showed me to my lodging. He wore full out black robes and would bow his head to me every time I answered a question. He was your quintessential monk. BUT, when he got to the explanation of the food part of the tour he got very apologetic about the meager selection of breakfast foods - fruit and whole wheat bread. I of course didn't see anything wrong with the offerings but he went on to explain that it's just difficult with so many monks on the ZONE diet these days to appeal to everyone (I had no idea about this trend). The non-ZONE diet monks don't want to rub it in to the ZONE diet monks that they can eat Lucky Charms and such (which I thought was very considerate and nodded in agreement). I told him that I totally understood and I was happy about my breakfast. He bowed his head and thanked me and the matter was settled.

December 14: stars on ice

Millenium Park Ice Rink, Chicago. I asked this clump of characters to show me their best forms and they dazzled me with both their compliance and artistry. Just so you know, the guy on the end is holding that leg up there all by himself!

December 13: christmas tree

December 12: ring of clouds

This afternoon as I was driving home there was a huge wall of clouds ringing the blue sky. It was really incredible and this was the highest place I could get to take a picture, but it can't do the real thing justice. I did kind of like the way the roundness of the sky contrasted with the telephone lines though.

December 11: look up

While having hot apple cider with a friend this evening, this trellis was hanging over our table with the light coming through. It's pretty, I think.

December 10: happy dad

Today's picture was a tough call...this little lady is pretty photogenic. But I thought this was a sweet picture of Aubrey and her dad, Jacob. We had our OICM dinner party tonight. It was really exciting. We played the dreidel game, which was my first time ever. I won, but it was only because I had a lot of benefactors who shared thier hershey's kisses with me (our currency) and I ended well. Hope you're having a good day!

P.S. I have had little internet access lately...I'm sorry to keep you waiting!

December 9: paddington bear

Valerie has a fine appreciation for children's books and Christmas stories, and I certainly appreciate that about her!

December 8: Hallelujah Chorus

The long-awaited, best part!

December 7: While I live and breath!

I do believe that is one Alphine J. you see there on the left side, a most intruiguing professor of mine who I lost track of but found tonight! He always told us our final exam questions the first day of class. My favorite remains, "Why, the city?" I still don't know exactly what he was going for there, but I can remember the question still. Our notes from that class were great too...they were so full of interesting "facts" and "historical drawings" that I would give them out as gifts to my friends after the class, or actually sometimes while I was still in the class. I will never forget those courses. So, what is going on here? Well, as our InterVarsity Christmas Caroling troupe of thirty people romped around the neighborhood, we were spontaneously invited inside a suit and tie affair for the 80th birthday of the young woman you see in the red dress. Very surreal. We sang 'Angels we have heard on high', 'Silent Night' (her favorite apparently), and of course we threw in a 'Happy Birthday' for free as well. This was MUCH better than our outing last year, during which we had someone close the door in our faces with gusto as we stumbled through "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" That was a real low point in our Christmas Caroling history. But as you can see here, we've peaked. The charming man in the rocking chair was really enjoying all of this. We ended with great food and games at the Hampton's house...the last of a long-standing tradition. Good party!

December 6: unwrapping frenzy

Tonight we had a Christmas party Oasis with some interesting peppermint punch (thank you punch master), and a helpful story from Mrs.H, and a stunning electric guitar version of 'Joy to the World', and lots of frosting and sprinkles on cookies. We also had a frenzied competition to unwrap a package inside a package inside a few other packages while wearing gloves. The coveted prize in the center box was a Frosty with Paul! I'm sorry to the entire half of the room that didn't stand a chance...I thought I wrapped those boxes really well. Guess not! Paul might still enjoy having a frosty with you sometime though.

December 5: untitled

December 4: j.w.

Julie looks so nice with her silver and white shirt and her silver and white shoes. What you can't tell by looking at her is that she is one sweet little cell muderer! Apparently, there is this little machine in the biology lab that vibrates corn cells (or any other kind of cell I assume)to death so that they can be examined and their protein expressions determined. I was very curious about all this and she explained it in a way that even I a non-science major could understand. Thanks!

I've been taking pictures after it's been dark and I don't like the flash very much, as a result the pictures are turning out a little blurry. I'll keep working on that.

December 3: little trees

I don't know why, but sometimes I just crave brocolli....particularly steamed brocolli. I suppose that if you're going to crave something, that's not the worst thing you could want. So, today was a brocolli day.

December 2: a bush

While I once considered changing my major in college so I could write an Independent Study on the theology and rhetoric of church signs and their often repellent nature, I suppose I cannot mock this one. I'm feeling rather sheepish about putting this up but I don't have much of a pool of pictures to choose from (our Sunday night photo shoot was not so good guys). My mom took this one with my camera as we held up traffic coming out of the parking lot and she requested that she get to be the guest photographer of the day. So, yes mom. Here you are, and thank you to you and Dad for coming to Wooster to be there for me. I appreciated that so much.
So, while we're on the subject, the award for best church sign ever goes to Evangel Assemblies of God church in Wooster for their "Love your enemies: Go Steelers!" sign of 2006. Good job whoever came up with that.

December 1: last of the pumpkins

That's snow you see lolloping over the horizon....

NOVEMBER PICTURE OF THE MONTH

It's that time of the month again!!!

When we look back over all the pictures Annie's taken over the last four weeks and make this little project a cornucopia of interactive commentary and opinions.

Click on the "Comments" link to leave your vote!

November 30: lady and her harp

Ok. I'll admit. This is not a very good picture, I was very far away and trying not to be a bad audience member by snapping pictures. But, this was the essence of my evening. Hannah and Barbara and I enjoyed the Wooster Chorus Christmas concert. It was really beautiful and I particularly loved this harp lady. She seemed to be really enjoying herself up there. I don't often see serious musicians have the expression of, shall I say contentment and absolute pleasure that she had (granted, she was playing a harp which is by its very nature sort of serene). I was really proud of her too, because at one point one of the strings broke and she just played on like a real trooper....she even went on to do a rather long solo without that string and nothing seemed amiss.