downtown in december

Philadelphia at Christmastime

This past weekend Landon and I got to make a quick trip up to Philadelphia and had a blast--though we were exhausted when we got back! :)

We went up for the Army-Navy game, since our future brother-in-law, Kenna's fiance James, is in the Naval Academy.

We flew in late Friday night, had a quick night's sleep and then hit the ground running (literally!) the next morning as we headed out to see the sights.

We began with running the Rocky steps. :)

Then, because it was just a quick drive away, we went over to see the Liberty Bell, which was actually really cool.

And, we saw, though we didn't have time to tour it, which I would have liked to, Independence Hall. It was still neat to see and to think about all that took place there. And, it was really pretty. :)

Then, after a quick breakfast, we loaded up our cold weather gear (since it was in the low 30's) and headed to the Stadium for the Army Navy game, where we hung out for the duration of the day, taking in the spectacle of it (and the game, of course!). Though it was looking a little iffy in the beginning, Navy won!

On our last morning, because the rain thwarted our plans to do some more sight-seeing, Landon and I spent a relaxing morning at the hotel. Then, on our way out to the airport, we stopped at a little Christmas village, where we bought a Philadelphia ornament that now hangs on our tree, some yummy chocolate apples and bananas and, of course, a Philly cheesesteak. Though it was cold and wet and parking was a nightmare, it was a adventure and a nice way to end the trip. :)

And then, we came home to a nice way to end the weekend--our First Family Christmas party!

Merry Christmas--only 9 days left!!!

Random

Landon and I had to back up and do a double take when we saw this in our neighborhood a couple of days ago, just chilling on the sidewalk. Really? A rooster? And he looked perfectly at home. Only in our neighborhood, haha. :) I love it.

It's beginning to look (and feel) a lot like Christmas...

This is, by far, my favorite time of year. :)

Running on a 0.1 track

Heads up - Post by Landon!!!! You can tell it is written by me by the extreme brevity followed by the video :).

Most of you know by now that Aja and I are running a lot. What some of you don't know is that the vast majority of our training happened on a 0.1 tack at our local Bally's. Aja really doesn't like training on a treadmill, so this is the best solution we could come up with for the 100 degree summer. So enjoy the video and think of running another 199 times around the track.

This was taken from a 10 Mile Run we did this past Wednesday (12/2/2009).

Luke 12:48

Tonight, as I pulled into my driveway after working out, I turned my car off and just sat there for a few minutes, listening to the radio and letting my mind wander as I enjoyed a quick break from the hectic pace of today. KSBJ was playing "O Come Emmanuel" and I just felt like God was telling me to sit and be quiet for a minute. So I did.

And as I leaned my head back on the seat and listened to the words about God coming down to us, I had so many thoughts rushing through my head. The conversation with my family about sponsoring kids and micro-loans through Kiva. How commercialized Christmas seems to be this year--all about buying, buying and more buying. How many people in the world don't know God. The book I was reading about the other day called Half The Sky, which talks about how more girls have been killed in the last fifty years, precisely because they were girls, than men were killed in all the wars of the twentieth century, particularly in India and Pakistan. And how what made me want to read the book though is that instead of just making moral appeals, the authors posit that it is impossible for countries to climb out of poverty if only a fraction of women (9% in Pakistan, for example) participate in the labor force. That for these struggling countries, women can be a huge change agent. And then that made me think about how I then saw the writers of the book on Oprah the other day, which I never watch but just happened to have on. And I thought about how a co-worker was telling me a few days ago how her family went and served the meal at the GRB on Thanksgiving and that after doing that, and seeing the need right in our city, they won't be able to not serve again next year, and the next, and the next from here on out. And then I thought about our little Joel, who lives in the Congo, and the war that is raging there and how worried I am about him. And I thought about our two little boys in Paraguay, who are living in orphanages and my heart is heavy for them. And I thought about the Ankole people in Uganda, Africa, and the missionaries over there sharing God with them and about what our role in that outreach needs to be.

All of this flew through my head in about 2 minutes. And then as the song was coming to an end, God brought to my mind the verse Luke 12:48. "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:48

It's a verse that has been one of my favorites since I first read it in high school, and one of the most convicting that I've read, but one I hadn't thought of recently. Like, in a long time. And, as clear as day, I felt like God was saying that reaching out to our hurting world isn't optional. It isn't something we do when we feel like it or because we want to feel good about ourselves. It isn't something we do right now and then not later, or that we put of for later, when we have more money or time or whatever. We have so much. So much. And with what we have been given financially, SO much good can be done. Especially in some other countries where so much oppression and suffering is going on all around us. I felt like he was saying to me that really, it's not ok to know about what is going on in our world and not do anything about it. Because from those who have been given much, much will be asked, and demanded.

And I needed to hear that tonight. Because it's too easy to live in my bubble. To get caught up in sales and what I bought for a good deal. To push statistics I hear about oppression and rape and murder out of my head because it's not in front my face. To buy something for me instead of loaning to others to help them get their business started. To not challenge myself to put others needs, true, in many cases, life and death needs, before my own wants, because sometimes it's hard.

I felt God saying that giving isn't something you do, it's how you live your life. And it's something to be taken seriously. And God, I want to live my life with my eyes wide open to the reality of what is going on in our world with your children, and my heart and mind open to the possibilities of what I can do in response to that--and with the conviction to do something.

Because I'm happy it feels like December on December 1st :)

Tonight I pulled out the butternut squash I've had in my refrigerator for a while now. I decided to try out this new recipe I have for butternut squash bisque because I've heard it was good-- and because I was curious what butternut squash tasted like.

And, I was pleasantly surprised--it's delicious. And smells really good. And this soup is super easy to make.

It was perfect for a cold night like tonight.


Enjoy! And, happy first of December!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH BISQUE

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 3/4 cup diced carrots
• 4 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• ground nutmeg to taste
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)

Directions

1. Heat the oil and melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir the onion in the butter and oil under tender.
2. Mix the carrots and squash into the pot. Pour in vegetable stock, and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until vegetables are tender.
3. In a blender or food processor, puree the soup mixture until smooth. Return to the pot, and stir in the heavy cream. Heat through, but do not boil. Serve warm with a dash of nutmeg.

(from AllRecipes.com)