Christmas! Its over

Wow it has been awhile since even I have looked at this blog. Christmas slowed me down a bit, but now that the main festivities are over I should write a little about what has happened in the recent past.

I did a lot of "traditions" this year. And since I have a one and a half year old, and no dish washer, and I'm a full time student--I was tired at the end. I felt motivated to do and make everything Christmas-y that I could think of because I don't know if we will be in Chad or where next Christmas, or the Christmas after that, or the Christmas after that. It could be a long time before I have jello (for Christmas jello and jigglers shaped like pine trees) and Crisco (for the special icing on my mom's traditional advent cake) or candles (again for the advent cake and also the advent wreath) or brown sugar and powdered sugar (for the whole made cinnamon roles that are now "traditionally" Dave's Birthday cake on Christmas morning, because his birthday is on the 25th), or chocolate and peanut butter (for my mom's famous holiday cookies), or cream cheese and crab (for my Aunt's crab dip).

It wasn't so bad, it just took a long time. and of course Ben added to the excitement. After my 4th failed attempt to make these cinnamon roles for Dave (I am new with yeast baking) Dave had to take Ben outside to play so I could try one last time. The ended up at the laundromat watching someones clothes dry. Fascinating field trip. I finally figured out that the reason my bread wouldn't rise was because our house was too cold. (don't worry--our house is not that cold. I just have picky bread I guess). So I stuck the dough in the oven after I baked something and that stuff rose triple! Then I burnt the edges on Christmas morning. But Dave didn't seem to mind.

Thanks to a couple of you, who sent me sociable crackers and wheat thins, we had something to eat the crab dip with. I was attempting to make my own crackers when Ben reached up onto the counter (he has recently gotten tall enough to grab almost anything he wants, and since I let him play with my measuring cups sometimes he thinks they are his) and pulled a cup of beat eggs onto himself. --Suddenly making crackers included a bath and change of close, moping the floor. and then finally rolling out the dough and cutting out little crackers. I think its understandable that I forgot to "prick" the crackers all over, and then therefore ended up with little star shaped biscuits instead of crackers. Again, thanks Andrea and Mom. I love store bought crackers!

I mentioned earlier that we don't know where we will be in the Christmases to come. I think I ought to explain that for anyone who might be confused. Because of having children (which no one can plan) and visas, we don't know exactly when we will arrive in Chad or when we will leave. I'm not totally up to date on the situation but I do know that we are waiting to find out when we will be able to enter the country. We thought we knew how we were going to get out visa, but (something normal for all missionaries) we don't know anymore. So within the next few weeks we should find out. I'm pretty comfortable with not knowing. I figure that we will get there--sooner or later. Those who are dealing with the problem might not be quite as at ease with it as I am however, and I'm sure they would love your prayers--for wisdom, and for God to keep Satan's hand from preventing us to enter the country.

I suppose I feel relaxed about the visa problem because I like to focus my energy on other problems. Like, for example, the fact that Dave keeps running out of socks before I do the laundry. This is a big problem, for him, for me, and for all those people in the room when he takes his shoes off. Another one of my major problems is that, lately, I can't seem to remember to make sure I know what we are going to eat in time to produce it before 7:30pm. You can pray for me too.