Snow Day!

School was cancelled so Ava spent the day with me.  A beautiful snow and no wind--so rare and so fun!

 Then back inside for hot chocolate and books by the fire!

Tree Hunting

This was a VERY quick process this year because it happened to be VERY cold the day we had planning to get our tree.  With an icy wind blowing the decision became easy.  Ava waited in the car until it was time to do the actual cutting.

Listen....

Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace. - Frederick Buechner

Fall family times

Late in September Eloise came to spend the night with us.  Lots of cousin love!

Ava is now 7--such a milestone age!  We celebrated with her friends at Birch Bay and then spent the night there.

 We celebrated Jon, Kaci and Ava's birthdays at our house later in the month.

Cara, Doug, Ron and I celebrated in Mom's memory on her birthday (the 18th) at Dos Padres.

Handprints

Ava and I made a Thanksgiving card for Nicole, and Kaci sent us one she made with Eloise.

I love these precious hands and the precious girls they are attached to!!

This makes so much sense....

“The faith passes, so to speak, through a distiller and becomes ideology. And ideology does not beckon [people]. In ideologies there is not Jesus: in his tenderness, his love, his meekness. And ideologies are rigid, always. Of every sign: rigid.

“And when a Christian becomes a disciple of the ideology, he has lost the faith: he is no longer a disciple of Jesus, he is a disciple of this attitude of thought… For this reason Jesus said to them: ‘You have taken away the key of knowledge.’ The knowledge of Jesus is transformed into an ideological and also moralistic knowledge, because these close the door with many requirements.”

“The faith becomes ideology and ideology frightens, ideology chases away the people, distances, distances the people and distances of the Church of the people. But it is a serious illness, this of ideological Christians. It is an illness, but it is not new, eh?” -- Pope Francis

Weezy Time

I went down and took care of Eloise during conference time.  So fun to hang out with her!  She loves the park near her house.