A Mexican Christmas tradition is to make tamales. And oh, do I love tamales. In case you have never had them, you have to try one sometime. Of course I have learned that not all tamales are alike. I have been disappointed a couple of times when I spotted them on the menu of a Mexican restaurant and then when I dug in, it wasn't quite what I wanted. I have found, though, that of all the tamales that I have had that came from my own area, have not disappointed me, not even once! I believe the reason that they are a Christmas tradition and aren't served as much the rest of the year is the work that they take in preparing them. It is a two day process when you buy the masa (corn dough) already prepared. Our good friend Joe, said that his family use to truly make them from scratch, meaning, grow and grind the corn and raise and slaughter the pig. Well this year, Joe showed me how to make tamales almost from scratch (we didn't slaughter any pigs are grind any corn). But we did prepare the meat with our own homemade sauce (but then again I didn't grow the chili peppers either, oh well).
So one day last week the kids, my mom and I went over to Joe and Gloria's to learn how to make tamales. While Joe and I worked on the tamales, Gloria had several crafts for the kids to make to keep them occupied. They always enjoy going over to their house.
Here are some pics of our tamale making time:
Day one:
Cutting the meat into small chucks and getting the fat off.
Chopping the garlic.
Joe is soaking the corn husks so they will be ready to use the next day to wrap the tamales in.
Splitting the chili peppers to get the seeds out.
Day two:
Spreading the masa on the corn husk.
Yummy Tamales!!! Muy Bien
Of course there is some waiting time, like when the tamales are steaming. So Joe got to play with the kids during that time.
And since day one we didn't have the tamales ready to eat, Joe and Gloria cooked us up some tacos for dinner. And oh how we love Gloria's tacos!!!!!
Now a warning if you do try a tamale, please unwrap the corn husk. I know from experience that it makes the tamale a bit chewy! :)
It was a sad day in our home today, when Clay's hermit crab known as "Crazy Crab" (named this because he liked to switch shells frequently), was found dead in his tank earlier this afternoon. A couple of days ago he was seen crawling on one of his tank toys, the next day his shell was left at the top of the tank toy and he was crawling around "naked". It seemed that the shell was stuck. I moved the shell by him trying to get him back in. We left him alone, but he continued to crawl around naked. Today we decided to clean the tank and put in new fibers on the bottom, but it was too late, he was already gone. After tears from Clay, Paige offered to share her crab with him. Clay accepted her offer after his pleas for a puppy were shot down by me. (someday, just not now!!!) So now we are down to two hermit crabs. Atleast, they have more room to roam.
Weather Weanie is a term that one of our friends that lives here in CA, but has lived elsewhere too, calls Californians that complain about weather being too hot or too cold (like in December and it is in the 60's and they are freezing). Well I have definitely developed into one. Today it wasn't about temperature, although I thought it was a bit chilly until my mom showed me a picture of my sister's neighborhood (I honestly forgot about the possibility of snow elsewhere) so looking at the picture I had to admit that no it really wasn't that cold here. Today it was rain. It rarely rains here which is nice in a sense because we can plan outdoor events and not worry too much about it raining. But not so good when we have a water shortage, which is all of the time. But anyway back to what I was saying. It isn't often that it rains, and even less often that I drive in the rain. So I am driving today to the airport to pick up my mom who is flying in leaving behind snow and ice and I am driving in the rain with a white knuckle grip because honestly I don't think I have driven in a real rain for a couple of years! Can you say WEATHER WEANIE!?!?
Our dear friends, Stephanie and Pedro, began the adoption process with Haiti back in January of '08. On April 11, 2008, they committed to the adoption of two very precious boys, Ian and Alec. Since then they have been working on paperwork, praying and waiting to be able to travel to Haiti to bring their boys home. Both were able to travel to meet the boys one time and Stephanie was able to go an additional two times to visit and spend time with the boys. But with all three of the visits, they left empty handed and had to say goodbye to their sons. They are in the final stages of paperwork with Haiti, but still there is need for much prayer for all the t's to be crossed and all the i's to be dotted. During the time of wait Pedro and Stephanie have seen God working and blessing them. God has blessed them with the finances on the adoption and he has provided a loving nanny in Haiti to care for the boys. Still they wait. For 600 days they have waited for their sons to come home.
Please pray that the rest of the paperwork would move quickly. Please pray that the boys would come home before Christmas. Please pray for protection for the boys as they are living in a country with diseases where children die frequently. Please pray for Pedro, Stephanie and their three children at home who are waiting, that they would continue to trust God in his timing, with his care and remember that he is good.
Click here if you would like to follow their story and know even better how to pray for them.
Like many things that God calls us to do, adoption isn't always easy. But at the end of the journey it is a blessing that will be worth the wait.
Please pray for Ian and Alec to come home soon. Thank you, Melissa
Every holiday, every year, I struggle to make it be what I believe it should be. Trying not to let Macy's, Target, Hallmark, and the rest of our society dictate what we focus on. Christmas is the biggest. Santa Claus, presents, cookies, etc. They all seem to take the front and center. But I don't want it to be that way. So how do we make Christmas different? How do I show our kids that Christmas is about God's gift to us. Jesus. The gift that was promised to Adam and Eve after sin entered the world. The gift that Abraham and King David were promised would come. The gift that would save us from our desperate state of sin. What is Christmas suppose to look like? In the Old Testament, God gave instructions to the Israelites on how to celebrate specific holidays/festivals like Passover. Christmas isn't laid out in the Bible as to how it should look. Really the only one that is laid out for us now is the Lord's Supper. So what should Christmas look like to show our children and those around us why we celebrate this holiday? We aren't going to avoid the gifts and seeing Santa everywhere. But I believe we need to be proactive in teaching our little ones about the precious gift from God. I want to be intentional in all that we do this year. I was recently introduced to the Jesse Tree. Here are two links that give information on it:
Typically you would start this at the beginning of Advent. But I don't think it is ever too late. There are scripture readings everyday that will point us to the coming of Christ. (Thank you Rachel for sharing this with me.)
In the past few years we have used What God Wants for Christmas. You can look at it here. The kids have loved this because it is a manger scene they can touch and play with. It is something that you can do with a group such as a Sunday School class or just with your family. You can open one box each day before Christmas or you can spread it out over the day of Christmas. There are lots of options.
Another thing we do is bake cookies for our neighbors. The kids help with the baking and the delivering. In the past we have included a book with the cookies such as John Piper's book Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, click here to see how you can order it by the case. It is great to include the kids in this Christmas outreach.
I would love to hear how you and your family celebrate Christ's Birth. Please leave a comment.
I know there are many great ways out there to focus ourselves and our families on the beauty of Christ, so please share yours!
What a trip! We relaxed, we explored, we played and best of all we slept well! I believe the key to a great vacation is sleeping well. And we all slept well. With the great sleep that we got, we were able to enjoy all that Sonoma County had to offer, and it was a lot. From rugged coast, to tall redwoods, to rolling hills with vineyards, we saw and did it all! Gorgeous is the one word I would use to describe Sonoma County. Here are a few pics and you can let me know if you agree...
We traveled north on Monday to spend Thanksgiving up at a camp. The camp is open for pastors and their families to stay for get-a-ways. They graciously gave us a mobile home to to use for the 5 days we were there. The grounds were beautiful with walking trails, basketball courts, soccer field, volleyball court and baseball. And believe me, we did it all.
On the way up we stopped at the Jelly Belly factory. If you have a sweet tooth and are ever in the Bay area, it is the place for you. You call smell the sugar in the air and you get to taste lots of it too.
And yes, we got to keep the hats!
Paige is in front of a picture done in jellybeans!
Our first day was spent playing around the camp and then visiting the beach. This water is not for swimming. It is the most dangerous beach in California. But it is beautiful. The kids didn't care, they spent their time exploring and playing ball with Daddy and some friends they met on the beach. We finished the evening with a picnic watching the sun set over the Pacific. Can't think of a better way to finish the day!
This isn't one of us below, in case you were wondering ;)
The second full day we drove to Armstrong Woods State Park to hike and check out the Redwoods. The kids loved exploring. At the visitor center they gave the kids a scavenger hunt map to look for certain things a long the way. They thought that was great. After the park, we headed over to Korbel Champagne Cellar for a winery tour. It was very interesting. Day three (Thanksgiving Day) we drove around the countryside looking at the beautiful vineyards. Fall was at its peak with colors ranging from red, to orange, to yellow. We then found a city park in Santa Rosa and spent time playing and had our thanksgiving picnic. Later in the afternoon we played a family game of soccer.
The picture below is of a zinfandel grapevine that is from 120 years old!
The climbing thing below was Clay's favorite part of the park. That is him up at the top with the gray shirt on. He climbed the thing 10 times. Our Thanksgiving picnic.
The next day we packed up and headed home. We are thankful to Mt. Gilead Camp for hosting us on our Thanksgiving get-a-way. It was sad to leave, but home is a great place to be too. And when we got home we were greeted with this beautiful sunset.
On our recent trip up north (which I will post on shortly), I got to spend time with a friend from my college years. Danneca and I both lived at Stewart Coop during some of our Purdue years. And we are both transplanted from the Midwest to California.
Danneca and her husbnad, Caleb, invited us over for dinner and fellowship, what a blessing our time was together.
I have one more picture of the 4 adults to add once I get it from Danneca. Paige was kind to take the picture, however cut off most of Caleb's head.
Two of Danneca's kids are missing from the pic above.
Hi, my name is Melissa. My husband, Jathan, and I have 4 beautiful children, 2 by birth and 2 by adoption. Jathan is a pastor and I am a stay at home, homeschooling mom.
You will find me writing about my kids, my husband, God, adoption, homeschooling, our travels, life events and everything in between.
