The Year of the Rooster

Each year we buy our children a Christmas ornament. My hope is that when they have their first Christmas tree of their own, they'll have lots of ornaments to start with. I hope that each one is a reminder of God's faithfulness to them, and to our family throughout the years. My sweet Jack is celebrating his 4th Christmas in a different house. He was born in West Virginia so his first two week old Christmas was there, accompanied by a WVU ornament. And then at one, I bought a really fun very Chinese-looking ornament for him, not knowing that it would be our last Christmas in China. And last year, we bought him a flamingo, in honor of our move to Florida. I never intended for each ornament to represent the place we were living at the time, but it seems we have a theme here. I am hoping this year's ornament is a last of that theme. Lord willing there won't be anymore moves for us in the next few Christmases! But I couldn't resist this little guy...
The town we moved to is known for having roosters and chickens roaming down town. I'm not sure how long they've lived there, but long enough for the Rooster to be on all the signs for our town. It's sort of the town mascot. There's about 6 of them and they usually hang out behind the consignment shop, right in front of the town fire station. Our kids love seeing them. (There are actually two peacocks that live on a side road downtown and we see them from time to time as well)

So it just felt fitting to buy a rooster for our little ones this year. Jack and Emma Grace, we are praying that you would grow to deeply know and understand the love of Christ in this town. We are praying that your roots would grow deep here, both in our fun little town and in the Lord. We are praying for lots of happy days filled with peacock spottings, tree swings, and long bike rides in 70 degree December! Would this little town would be the place where God meets you and shows you himself in ways that cause you to marvel and worship at who he is. Merry Christmas Jack and Emma Grace!

Turkey Intimidation

I have suffered from Turkey Intimidation for several years now. I've learned A LOT about cooking over the past 8 years. I can even make homemade gravy now, which according to my Paw Paw, is a requirement for "wifery" in our family. But Turkey...now that's a different story. I've entertained thoughts of cooking my own turkey over the years but it felt like so much pressure. Living in a country where we pre-ordered our Turkey a month in advance and paid a steep price for this rare bird, it felt like the stakes were too high.

And last year I was in no place to roast a Turkey. I am not sure I had cooked more than freezer pizza in my oven at this point last year.

But this year, I had the perfect opportunity to go for it! We had a group of international friends over for thanksgiving, and since it was my American holiday, the cooking was all up to me! It was the perfect chance to just go for it. I LOVE cooking for people from other cultures. Why? Because it's really hard to mess up. First of all, they are always so gracious when they are in our home. Hospitality is such a large part of most other cultures so it seems natural to them that we would have them over. And that our house would look "lived in." I love the overall feeling of no pressure when I entertain non-American friends. And they don't know what it's supposed to taste like anyway, so even if it's not "right" by our standards, they'll never know! And finally in most countries, MEAT is a love language. We've been loved with meat more than once. I remember Xiao Li's parents slaughtering and cooking a whole chicken for us when we visited their home. I remember Wang Shu Shu gifting us a giant hare and two bunnies to raise and slaughter and eat. (We delegated the raising and the slaughtering to loving neighbors who were better with this kind of thing...but we did eat them!) So I knew that cooking up a big turkey would speak lots of love to these friends.
And after I got going, I realized it's just like roasting a whole chicken which I've done more than once...only bigger! We used Alton Brown's "Good Eats Roast Turkey" recipe that called for the turkey to be brined for 16 hours. It was the best Turkey I've very tasted. Way to go Alton. You were right. So I'm over my Turkey Intimidation and we liked the recipe we used so much that I am planning to use it to roast a chicken soon.

Last year, we were thanking God for his abundant clear provision for us as we lived the whirlwind of relocating our entire life. Just making it through a day was something we thanked him for. And in many ways it feels like we are still in the process. It feels less chaotic for sure, but we still feel like tress with very few roots here. We are thankful for our house, for kind neighbors, and for a wonderful preschool for our children. We are thankful for the new friends he has provided for us here and our church, which week in and out points me to rest rest rest in who God is and all Jesus is for me. And I am thankful for the way I relate to him now. I've never experienced the grace of God like I have this past year. Emma Grace was thankful for heaven and cookies and a brother. Jack was thankful for Mommy and Daddy, dinosaur vitamins and cars to play with.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Huffmans!

Happy Thanksgiving Xiao Li!

We have a Love Cup Explosion on our hands

We had a wonderful visit with my parents this past weekend. WONDERFUL. I am marveling more and more at God's perfect design for the family. Children need parents. And they also need grandparents. They need the delight of two adults who aren't worn down for the daily grind of raising children. They need to feel special in a way that only grandparents can offer. Every time we spend time with either set of grandparents, my children come home full to the brim with love. After my parents left I told Emma Grace that I thought her "love cup was full" from spending time with Mamma Nette. Her reply, "yes, it exploded!" Way to go Mamma Nette and Pappa Dan exploding your grandchildren's love cup. We are so grateful!

The Pilgrims have arrived!!

Can you guess who was the Mayflower? Pilgrim Emma Grace with one of her closest friends (and possibly Jack's favorite person in the world right now) Kaelyn! Thankful for Thanksgiving parties with friends, for cardboard boats carried by cute little ones, and for the sweet potato casserole I ate too much of!

Sunday Dinner

The last thing I want to think about on Sunday nights is what to eat for dinner. So I found a solution that everyone likes-Roasted Marshmellows. It's simple, quick, and everyone is responsible for cooking their own! Not super healthy, but I'm just thankful not to cook. (OK, I only fed them marshmellows for dinner once, but we are really enjoying the fire pit we built in our back yard and we've made way too many s'mores for dessert lately!

the sneak factor

According to Andy, having all this candy around is "increasing the sneak factor in our house fourfold...all four of us are sneaking to get it." It's true. Everyone around here knows the top shelf is now home to quite the stash of candy. Some of us just reach up there while little ones aren't looking and others of us get stools and climb shelves while big people aren't looking. I put Jack to work and he really enjoyed sorting the candy and stuffing his birthday pinata with some of it. I enjoyed throwing away a 10 lb bag of it. We now have a very small stash of the best candy located at an undisclosed location for when big people want to sneak or when big people think the little people around here need a treat! Mom, I saved the Almond Joys for your visit!