Signing Off

Juliet:  'Tis almost morning, I would have thee gone--
And yet no farther than a wan-ton's bird,
That lets it hop a little from his hand,
Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves,
And with a silken thread plucks it back again,
So loving-jealous of his liberty.

Romeo: I would I were thy bird.

Juliet: Sweet, so would I,
Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing.
Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow.

Everyone needs a little Shakespeare to start their morning!  My original intent for the blog this morning consisted of a small dose of whimsy with a splash of sweet excitement.  The dose and splash quickly dissipated as a strong wave of "farewell" came swooshing in.  And then to top it off, Juliet's farewell to Romeo entered my sunroom of thought and won the prize...how's that for a train of thought?  Choo-Choo!

So, it's with such sweet sorrow that I say farewell...until the 4th's morrow. :)

TWO MORE DAYS!!!

I never believed in Santa Clause.  Not sure if this is because my parents never pushed the subject, or if I was simply too mature for my own good (yes, that's sarcasm). 

Regardless of the reason, Christmas Eve night was met with excitement and several sleepless hours.  I normally slept with my door open, but on Christmas Eve, Mom & Pop Elves would shut my door so they could scurry about and fill our stockings.  My bedroom was positioned over our living room, so I could hear the crinkle of plastic bags and the soft murmur of my parents' excitement.  Christmas Eve required patience and a good dose of self-control when I was tiny.

That has carried out to present day.  If you measured my excitement at this very moment, you'd see the arrow swing off the charts.  Only two more days distance us from spending ten days with family.  My To Do Lists are starting to get attention, and by my attire as of late, you'd realize I've already packed my clothes.  It's not Christmas Eve, but this is so much better.  Mom & Pop Elves are the gift themselves!!!

Stuffed Dog: $25

It all started with my obsession of stuffed animals.  I have a mother who never quite grew out of her love for plush toys, and she passed that along to her two girls.  Between the two of us, Holly and I have enough stuffed animals to fill the west side section of Toys R Us.  At one time my collection of friends was out of control, so my parents installed a corner hammock.  All of my beloved companions lived on Hammock St. for a while, until the block party was too rambunctious, causing the street to cave in. 

More than often I will find Hutch positioned like a stuffed toy.  Whether he's sitting, laying, or sprawled out in relaxation, he has a knack for appearing fake...or should we just say adorable?  He's too cute for words sometimes.  Today after we took our daily lunch walk, he sat down and just waited patiently for me to release him from the confines of his leash and harness.  And even when those were removed, he still sat there, looking up at me, waiting patiently for his cookie.  The only thing that moved were his long black eyelashes, as they adoringly batted my way. 

I still love stuffed animals, and I happen to have made my past imagination come to life through this tiny dog.  I no longer need to imagine a dog running down the hall beside me or a teddy bear that warms my lap...I've got one!!!

Hey, What's That!?

A brisk morning greeted us today.  Blades of grass were gently frosted with a silver lining, and the fog settled atop the highest trees.  Even the sun seemed a bit hesitant to poke her face out from under her mountain covers. 
Hutch discovered something new today--his breath!  I'm not sure if he realized the small poof of cloud following him was a result of his breathing, but he certainly seemed to snort and breathe more heavily today.  I wouldn't put it past him...remember who he lives with...Mr. Genius Jesse.  Haha.

Happy Monday, and have a wonderful start to your week!!!

I Can See!!!

My two pairs of new glasses arrived yesterday--and I'm loving them!!!

Here's one pair...the others are more "grown-up" but for now, I'm loving these ones!!

In a Nutshell

As we get our luggage repaired in preparation for our trip, and we continue to attend a multitude of Christmas parties, I find myself pondering over this past year.  Twelve months used to feel like an eternity, but now they feel like a snippet of time.  I will be MIA in the next week, so here's a fun way to wrap-up our Field family blog for the year...

The Year Recap:
January:  Christmas & New Years 2011 in OregonWe didn’t know at the time how special this particular Christmas would be. Much merriment was had—Jesse’s dad read the Christmas story on Christmas Eve while we enjoyed steaming bowls of clam chowder, we went to Luci’s church for Christmas Eve and got to enjoy seeing her in her element, and best of all we had lots of time spent being together. The whole week was special, and we will treasure that time always.

February: Weekend Getaway & Puppy
Jesse surprised me by taking me to Luray, VA (the true countryside) for a weekend. We stayed in a quaint cabin, and despite the crazy winds and storm rolling through we enjoyed the local flavor. The weekend ended with buying a certain little puppy. I’ll never forget how cuddly he was when the store placed him on the floor in front of me. We returned the next day and bought him. He was adorable!!!

March:  Holly Marie Visits!!!
We have begged Holly to come visit us ever since we got married. Money and schedules have always gotten in the way, so this year we put our foot down and said, “We will make this happen.” And it did! She had Kelton in her belly as we toured the old streets of DC, and for the first time in ages, Holly and I got to have some quality time just the two of us (I suppose it was technically 2.5).

April: Losing Dad
Jesse’s dad passed away at the end of April, and missing him is an understatement. You know how people muster up good things about people when they pass away so that at funerals, only good things are being said? Well, for Gary, no mustering had to happen. For anyone who knew him, they’d know he was an exceptional man. I could go on and on about how amazing he was.  But simply put--He was a man of God...the real kind.

 May:  Miss Luci Graduates!Just a week after we returned from our unexpected and difficult trip to Oregon, we found ourselves homeward bound a second time—but this time it was to celebrate a very special lady. Luci graduated from Corban University with high honors. We were so thankful for the added time with family and the opportunity to love on Luci. She is now a teacher at a local school near Silverton, OR.

June: Happy Fourth Anniversary
We celebrated our fourth year together by spending a quiet evening together at The Melting Pot. Why is it that dunking food in melted cheese or chocolate is so romantic? This year was a time of growing closer together.

July: Dad & Mom Visit
At some point, my parents will have seen DC in every season. This year, after much nagging from a certain blond someone, they chose to visit us on Fourth of July weekend. We toured the mountain scapes of Virginia and spent a lot of time laughing together. It was lovely. I can NEVER get enough time with these two very special people.

August: Enjoying the Great Outdoors
Jesse and I enjoy bike riding, but neither of us were outfitted with bikes for the local terrain. Jesse’s bike was built for heavy duty mountain biking, and my Wal-Mart purchase had seen better days. After two trips to REI (three if you count having to return to pick up my forgotten license), we had two new bikes and a bike rack. We had a lot of fun trying them out despite the EXTREMELY hot weather. And Hutch seemed to fit right in!

September: Picture TimeOur friends, Danny & Laura, came out and treated us to a family portrait session. The amount of laughter kept us plenty warm in the 40 degree wet weather.  We're told that we have a nack for being in front of the camera...though I'm not so sure we should quit our jobs and explore the modeling realm. :)

October: Mom and More Mom
Jesse's mom visited us in early October.  We always love when family comes to visit, and this time it was especially fun because we got to spend A LOT of time with her.  Jesse and I both took some time off to be with her.  One of my favorite memories from this trip was an evening the three of us sat around the living room playing Words With Friends and Hangman with each other on our phones/ipads.  Very fun!!  One week later, Jesse got to fly back out to Oregon to spend an additional week with her.  Yay for time with family!!!

A certain little somebody was born in October. :)  Kelton Nicholas Russell has proven to be quite the cutie pie.  In fact, his pictures are plastered all over my desk now. Holly is a very good Mamma.

November: Jumping the GunI promise I’ve never decorated for Christmas BEFORE Thanksgiving…that is until this year…

December:  Here We Are!!!
This year can be wrapped up with one thought said in more than one sentence (sorry--you know me--Miss Wordy).  FAMILY IS IMPORTANT.  I think perhaps Jesus' love for us can best be seen through family and the unconditional love that comes with it.  We miss our family--each brother and sister and mom and dad mean the world to us in their own special way, and we hope that someday soon God would have it in His plan for all of us to be living near each other again. 

WEDNESDAY!

“I was six when Charlie was born. I was ten when he disappeared.”


Those two lines have been running through my head every single night before I fall asleep. While I do enjoy sitting down in front of a fresh white screen and filling it with words, the pillow is not the place for these ideas to rest. The crazy thing is I can picture the characters and vaguely think of the full plot line of this story that doesn’t yet exist. I haven’t had the time to explore my mind and translate it down onto paper yet, but it’s fighting for survival by running the two opening sentences on repeat.

So I’m giving in. I wrote them down, so hopefully now, I will find rest on my pillow without those same thirteen words whispering in my ear.

Look what beautiful flowers I received from my boss and his girlfriend!
I keep them right close by to keep my mood from dropping every time there's an emergency at work. :)

Listening to His Voice

When life gets overwhelming, it's often easy to overlook the blessings. If we aren't careful, the deadlines and unending tasks blind us from the beautiful sunrise or words of affirmation. I know for myself, I have the tendency to dwell on the negative, as if milking the drama for all it's worth will reward me somehow. Obviously it never does.

This past Sunday, the youth group lesson was about a Shepherd and his sheep.  I've heard this lesson taught from many different angles, but this particular talk caught my attention.  Our youth pastor mentioned that the sheep only follow their Shepherd's voice.  We were born to hear only Jesus' voice--to follow only Him, depending upon Him for navigation and survival.  She followed this by explaining that we often resemble goats more than sheep.  Goats wander off, exploring the land without their leader.  I am a goat who wants to be a sheep.

We cannot navigate this world we live in without our Shepherd.  His voice carries us through trials, His touch reassures us during pain.  Life gets overwhelming, but the biggest blessing of all that we all too often ignore is our Shepherd Himself.  He is our blessing--He is our Hope.

Happy Birthday, Hutch!!!

If you'd told me a year ago I'd have a puppy, I wouldn't have believed you.  In fact, I would have laughed in your face.  Jesse's persistent "no" kept my dreams at bay, and it wasn't until he finally let us go "window shopping" at a petstore last February that I realized perhaps it might actually happen.
This little guy turns one today!

He was sooo tiny when we brought him home...a whopping 3 pounds!

I'd like to think Hutch and I had a connection right from the start...

Growing up is hard work!

And here he is today--showing off his pearly whites for Jesse

It's Friday!!!

I don’t have any profound thoughts or superfluous words to throw your way this morning. To say it quite simply, this week has been challenging. But, the good news is: it’s Friday today! That means two things—1) We have two Christmas parties to go to this weekend and 2) we can REST. Oh how we look forward to the resting!


Have a Happy Friday!!!

Thursday Theatrics

This is what happens when a certain someone hits a breaking point at work. 

Then Again, Maybe Not

I imagine Christmastime back in the "olden days" was not as easy as it is today.  When I think of Christmas, I envision garland framing front doors, trees lighting up the front window, trays of sugary treats, and spending evenings inside gathered around the fireplace.  Back then, it probably meant braving the blizzardlike chill to grab another stack of firewood to keep the oh-so-cold cabin warm and rationing food to make sure it would last through the winter.

I often say I wish I lived in the "olden days," as I really do think I would've fit in...but after considering the then and now surrounding wintertime, I think I prefer the now. :)  What would I do without the luxury of my glue gun and paper cutter?  How would I relax if I didn't have an electric mixer or gas oven?  Just a thought...

Anyways, my gifts and baking are well underway.  Invitations and Christmas cards are in the mailman's hands, and now all I have to do is finish up a few more tasks, and we'll be set.  Oh, how I love this time of year!!!

Movie Monday

Sorry for the crick you're about to get while watching this movie...I thought it would automatically flip to vertical, but it didn't.

HUTCH LOVES DRYER SHEETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heather's Eatery

Sometimes it is necessary to put all things on hold.  Forget the dusting and vacuuming--ignore the last bit of Christmas shopping to be done.  Baking was my top priority this weekend.  Even Jesse decided it was best to spend much of his day holed up in the office/guestroom while I took vacancy in the kitchen. 

There's something innately satisfying about perusing the "Flour/Sugar" aisle at the grocery store.  Did you know there are five brands of flour, but only three brands of sugar sold at Harris Teeter?  Well, now you know.

The Checker looked at my cart and began scanning the fifteen pounds of flour followed by the fifteen pounds of sugar.  It wasn't until she'd scanned the five pounds of butter and six bags of chocolate chips that she asked, "Are you baking?"  Why yes, yes, I am.

Creating order out of chaos is lovely.  Mix a little bit of this, and stir in a pinch of that, and whuallah, you have a batch of cookies!   

I've learned through the years that when there is much to bake, one must delve into it with no holding back.  Saturday morning came, and by 6:30, the oven was calling my name, and the ingredients snickered as they watched me gather them up with  a yawn.  To save time and effort, I brought it all out.  One whole section of the counter was dutifully dedicated to holding my supplies.  One big happy family.

Want to know what I baked?  No?  Too bad...

3 loaves of pumpkin bread
2 batches of molasses cookies
1 batch of shortbread
3 batches of sugar cookies (to be frosted tomorrow)
English Toffee
Grapefruit Peel Candies
Peanut Butter Balls

Twelve hours of baking later, and I have scads of goodies!  I could set up a little stand out front and call it Heather's Eatery.  Let's just say, I got into it this year. 

Christmas time is full of traditions, and I'm all about keeping them up.  But sometimes Heather's Eatery needs to have some surprises...which is why I added into my normal mix of holiday treats the Grapefruit Peel Candies.  Oh my goodness, are they AMAZING.  They turn into gooey, sugary, goodness.  My Christmas party isn't until Friday night, so they have yet to be rolled in sugar and dipped in chocolate, but they're quite scrumptious as they are.  Yumm!

Clearly, I could keep talking about all of the fun I had in my kitchen this weekend, but my pillow is calling my name.  If you're in the need of some sugary pick-me-ups, I'm just a flight away!!!

Rolling pins always remind me of a my mom with her pink apron on. 

The key to good baking?  Lots of love and very little measuring!

Down in My Heart

"But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy." Psalm 5:11 (NLT)

"I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High." Psalm 9:2 (NLT)
"May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers." Psalm 20:5 (NLT)
"So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy." John 16:22 (NLT)

A small decorative pillow hangs from my door handle at work. I’ve received more comments about this little decoration than I ever expected.

A friend commented yesterday that he thought “joy” was a retired word—he didn’t think it was used in modern language anymore. Isn’t that curious? He asked what the word meant.

I took a stab and said joy is not just a feeling—it’s a deep emotional response. Joy is not on the surface, but it bubbles up with such a force it cannot be contained. Webster says it’s “the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying.” I have to add that after I defined it for him, I started singing, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart! Where? Down in my heart!” He thought I was nuts.

What causes joy—that monstrous response to spectacularness? Yep, I just created that word, and I rather like it. What makes us smile from deep within? What causes butterflies in our tummy to zoom skyward? What turns happiness into pure joy?

I can think of a bazillion things (now that’s a real word) that cause joy in my life. A friend committing her life to Christ, a nephew being born, the possibility of Jesse’s health improving. Happiness is fleeting, joy is consuming. God is so GOOD to all of us. Even when we experience pain and hardship, there is Joy that comes in the morning. He promises it. We just have to open our eyes to experience it.

Joy isn’t a retired word. Joy is alive in each of us if we allow it to breathe. What brings you joy?

Happy December!!!

It may not technically be winter yet, but it sure is December!!!

Fuzzy pic, but you get the idea...