24 November 2009

January 30th

A wonderful day for a wedding, eh?

Wear your coats!!!

04 November 2009

panic is never becoming...

I've been reading Deuteronomy (or more appropriately, Fifth Moses) and sort of looking haughtily down my nose at those Israelites. They were so ridiculously forgetful. And with Moses saying like every other verse, "Only be careful...remember. Remember...be careful...the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt.... Remember. Do not forget....Remember!" It's almost comical how much he says it.

And it's almost comical how much they...oops...we forget. We are currently in full-wedding-planning-swing. About once a week I get to a point where I'm like, "This is impossible! It will never happen! How will this work??!" Logically, I have no idea how it can be as stressful as it feels. Right now we're in the midst of trying to find a building in Canby for our ceremony and reception that is:
  • big enough
  • pretty
  • affordable
Seems reasonable. Somehow, after a number of visits, meetings and applications it has yet remained elusive. Last night I was once again, a little puddle of frazzle. This morning, opening back up to Deuteronomy, I was reminded of God's provision.

Oh, uh, how did I forget?

If God could provide salvation for the Israelites and (I know this is hardly comprable) if he could provide me with David ex nihilo, how likely would it be for him to leave us high and dry now?

10 October 2009

speaking of gifts...

Last Sunday David took me out to the barn where we met, sang some of our songs, gave me a beautiful ring and asked me if I would be his wife! I yelled, YES!!!!!!!!

So on February 6th, we will become David & Anna Burnham.

01 October 2009

free gifts

I 100% love presents. Getting them and giving them. I just love presents. At English camp a few years ago, we talked about the "free gift" that God offers to us--life in Jesus. Since then little gifts remind me of The Gift.

Good gifts are just good. They fit, you know. And they are free. The sweetest thing about a gift is that it is--given. Just plain given.
Recently, Wes & Verna Birch, a couple in our church, found out that David was scurrying, scrimping and saving money to buy a camera. They'd lost one, bought a new one, found the old one and so decided to give it to us! It's so fun to be able to photograph the beautiful, little things of life again.

25 August 2009

still a lazy summer

Well, I've been wracking my brain to come up with something newsy or inspiring or provocative or even just plain-old-interesting for a blog post, but honestly, there's not a lot going on around here. It's a slow and lazy and restful summer. Some days are hot, some are colder. I open the curtains, water the garden, talk with the neighbors, do fun stuff with David, read books, visit and be visited by friends, grocery shop, tweedle around with projects--budgeting, making granola, painting furniture. I read Leviticus, do errands, talk on the phone, cook, eat, sleep. Really, nothing fascinating to write about.

In 15 days school will be starting, and I'll begin substitute teaching as soon as teachers start getting sick. Maybe I'll have something to write about then--although I probably shouldn't write about that stuff on this public place! I've got a discipline book that I'm trying to get through right now, Teaching with Love and Logic. I've also been thinking about seeing if I could be a barista at a teeny-tiny coffee shop they're building next door or teaching writing to freshmen at a local Christian college. Just on the side, you know. We're also poking around the idea of working with middle school kids from church. That'll actually start pretty soon, I think. Monday or Tuesday nights.

So, as a matter of fact, there is a whole stinkin' lot on the horizon. Fun, new, scare-me-totally-to-death stuff. But for now, for the next two weeks or so, it's just time to soak up the quiet. I'd better be learning how to pray right this minute.

12 August 2009

a bountiful garden

My garden has gone from a flowerbed overgrown with weeds,
to an empty lot of stinky manure,

to a patch of little sprouts,

to a bountiful abundance of flowers and vegetables.

Every day is a new exciting treat. Today the first sunflower opened!

Unfortunately, my camera is currently hiding, so these pictures (from David's phone) will have to do. Too bad the prettiest picture is so small; there's just too much detail for the phone's memory to handle!

30 June 2009

summer summer summer summer, part 2

So, along with those, I'm also reading Twilight. Everyone's reading it, right? I guess I've been suckered in; yesterday I read for quite a few hours. It's fine. Goes quick. Like a movie. I guess I don't have any real strong feelings about it....well... Actually, one thing that makes me squirm is the script that it's giving so many girls for falling in love. I feel like it says, "This is what it is to fall in love." It feels like this way, looks this way, is this way. It's always and only and completely consuming. (As though a boy-crazy jr high girl needs to have that re-enforced!) And in Twilight it's totally physical, instinctual. Like there's no brain or choosing involved. Love just IS. I don't know, what do you think? I know some of you have read it :) With that critique though, I should add, I think Stephanie Meyer is a charming writer. I like the way the words and pictures are woven.

Just watched Tears of the Sun. Still thinking about genocide, ethnic cleansing and all that. Heavy. Good movie.

Also, the old, all-time favorite, While You Were Sleeping. Still love Sandra Bullock. David chose Tears of the Sun, I chose this one :) Did you know they don't have this at Blockbuster anymore? I guess I'm getting old! Who doesn't enjoy a dose of happily-ever-after on occasion?

What else? Oh! I've been slowly making my way through Walking with God by John Eldredge. It's pretty much his personal reflections on what it means to walk with God over the course of a year. Over the past five years I've been regularly challenged by the way he's written about what it means to walk with God. I feel like he's put into words and given theological reasons for things that I've experienced. I'm not a hook-line-and-sinker follower, but the concepts stir me up enough to make me hold onto Jesus tighter. What more could an author want, huh?

No picture for this one, but we've been studying Ruth with church. What a fantastic story! Over the past few months, I've been reminded what an incredible story of hope and promise this is. Speaking of happily-ever-after endings! This one has it, from bitterness to restoration.

20 June 2009

summer summer summer summer

I am SO happy it's summer. As a student, I had NO idea just how thrilling the first day of summer could be. NO idea. As much as school was hard this year, I've gotta say, the joy of being out of school has almost made it worth it. Almost.

Yesterday I spent like five hours sprawled on the floor under the front window reading library books. Delicious. Books that were for no particular purpose except enjoyment. Wow. And here they are:

Cuts of beef and exotic appetizers. Who knew those Spaniards had such fun cook books?


Yep. Still a teacher. I feel like I just scratched the surface of a whole world of fantastic kid literature. I loved learning about US history this year, and I was most emotionally impacted by the historical fiction kid novels that I read. A personal favorite? Day of Tears by Julius Lester, about the largest slave auction held in America.

Oops! Battery's almost dead. More later.

09 May 2009

yeah for meat!

There's this restaurant in Portland--Two Brothers Cafe--that makes me feel like I'm back in Slovenia (or maybe a little south of there).

David got pleskavica. And though he stumbled over that name, he was pretty excited to have a hamburger that was as big as his head!


And I had čevapčiči. YUM YUM YUM! (And fyi, Christina, the meal was brez Union, brez Laško. Samo sva pila vodo. And boy do I like water!)








28 April 2009

stressed, uncertain and fun--three words about me

It's been almost 1.5 months since I last posted. Just a quick one today from school. I'm working hard, teaching English & Social Studies. That's stressful. I feel like my whole life revolves around the Industrial Revolution right now. (Did you know that cotton gin is short for cotton "engine"? Fascinating fact, huh?!) I roasted a chicken last night and went to a little knitting club--it was a three hour break from anything work related. That's nice. I moved to Salem. That's new. I have a new apartment. Well, it's old, but to me it's new. I'm unpacking stuff that I haven't seen since I left George Fox six years ago. That's fun!

15 March 2009

jack abram stepanian


This blond, little boy was born yesterday! Now it's John, Sarah, Nina and Jack. Sarah's blog has more of the details. I love being an auntie!

27 February 2009

compare/contrast

Yes. I am now solidly an eighth grade teacher. (Embarassingly, I did have to spell check the word 'eighth.' Who qualified me to teach??!) Today I kept using words like compare/contrast, reading strategies, literacy standards. I'm weirded out at how normal it is for those words to flow out of my mouth.

So here goes with my compare/contrast. In class, I told the kids to journal. "Think reflectively! Ask yourself questions and the explore answers. Ok, write!!!" Amazingly, they scrunched down in their chairs, chewed their pencils and began to write! I started writing, too. As I wrote I realized that I swing back and forth so much. Like yesterday I wanted to quit everything because it just felt an overwhelming amount of pressure, but a month ago I was longing for some meaningful activity. Oh man. Wouldn't somewhere in the middle be lovely...? I wish. I wonder if it's possible. And I guess the bigger question is--would it really come about by a change in circumstance or will it come about as I learn to live in peace, rest and power?

Oh, man. Thoughts??

13 February 2009

01 February 2009

lately

I've been knitting a sweater for that baby Hakala. I've been hanging out with David. I've been looking for a job. I've been getting to know my new church. I've been living with the Willifords. I've been reading Matthew with Amanda and Katie. I've been bundling up and readjusting to Oregon life.

14 January 2009

i like now better

I'm doing little computer projects in a coffee shop in Newberg. Next to me there's a table of college boys slung over their chairs, philosophizing. "Isn't the truest form of literature to connect your own story to another story?" Hum.

It's making me think back and remember. I remember that I loved being in college. It was so fun and stimulating and interesting and deep. I felt so intelligent, like my thoughts were just fascinating and brilliant all of the time (except after a lame test or an argument, but I blamed those on lack of sleep or..., certainly not my own inadequacy). I drank a lot of coffee and sat around theorizing about the meaning of life and reading thick books with small print. Profound.

It's been a few years. I've learned that my thoughts are certainly not brilliant, fascinating and wonderful all the time....maybe not even most of the time. On occasion, I'll hatch a good one, but I can't promise to deliver it in an eloquent or poetic way like I used to. I've realized that it's a lot more enjoyable to live a little slower, a little more practical, a little more down to earth.

I guess maybe I'm growing up or something. I am almost thirty, so I guess it's about time. I like now better. That's nice. I wonder what I'll look back at in another ten years...

07 January 2009

i live in oregon

Yesterday I got a library card at the Canby Public Library.

I know it's a big deal to pack up my car, drive fifteen hours, move all my stuff, put my mom on the airplane, unpack my pillows, go to a new church. I know that's a big deal. But somehow the library card feels different--like I really am here now.