A Look Back at 2009...

In January, we went to see "The Color Purple" at the Denver Performing Arts Center.

In February, David turned 29...

went skiing with his dad...

and I was invited to preach at Trinity's Ash Wednesday service.

In March, we were honored to be a part of Matt and Emily's wedding. (Yay for a new sister-in-law!)

...and we went to California to see our "California Family."

April and May must have been uneventful because I have no pictures from these months! (I'll just insert two cute pictures of our adorable puppies...)

The summer was BUSY! In June, we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary...

and my 28th birthday...

and Bob & Sally's 60th wedding anniversary in St. Louis.

In July, my mom and brother came to visit...

and I went to Israel/Palestine...

with Christian Peacemaker Teams.

In August, David hiked his first "14er"...

Carrie & Greg came to visit us...

and so did Lauren.

In September, we went camping in Colorado for the first time...

and ran our first 10K together...

and Steve & Patty came to visit.

In October, I went on retreat with the women at Trinity...

and we celebrated Halloween with friends.

In November, we celebrated my brother's 21st birthday...

and announced to our families that we are having a baby.

In December, David was the best man in his friend's wedding...

and we celebrated Christmas with our families.

2009 was a REALLY great year! We are so thankful for our family and friends who helped make this past year so special and we eagerly anticipate all the adventures that 2010 will bring...David will turn 30 and will graduate from nursing school, I will graduate from seminary, and we will become parents in July!

We wish YOU a year filled with joy, love, and blessings. Here's to 2010...

Nothing like it...

Our dr's appointment was really brief yesterday. No ultrasound--we have to wait until 20 weeks to get another picture of Baby Baker! (We'll just have to trust it's growing limbs and losing its tail...)

BUT, we did get to hear the heartbeat and it was spectacular. I think I could listen to it all day long if I could. The doctor told us that by 20 weeks David will be able to hear it with his stethoscope so I anticipate he'll have his ear to my belly quite a bit when the time comes. =)

Christmas in KC

My first trip to Bentonville

Lauren and Rusty recently moved to Bentonville, Arkansas so that Rusty could take a position as associate pastor at the Nazarene church. While I'm sad they didn't move to KC or Denver, Bentonville is only 3 hours south of KC!

I'm so grateful for the chance to visit them there and see the new life they are making for themselves. I got to see their home, their church, and much of their community. (Including the Bentonville town sqaure!)

It was a short visit but we squeezed a lot into it. Perhaps most special for me was Lauren treating me to a "Yay Baby!" lunch at Sushi House. (Don't worry, everything we ordered was cooked...)

Chris and Kerry's wedding

We are in KC again...this time to be at Chris and Kerry's wedding! Chris is David's best friend from elementary school and was one of the best men in our wedding 6 1/2 years ago. Last night, David got to be the best man at Chris' wedding and it was VERY special. Chris and Kerry are a great couple and we had such a great time celebrating them. We wish them well as they begin their new life together!

Most days...but not today.

Most days I am THRILLED about being pregnant. I wake up and cannot believe that I am lucky enough to have a baby growing inside me that is making me a mom. Most days I feel warm and fuzzy toward this unborn baby and my heart feels so swollen with love for it that I worry it might burst.

Today is not one of those days.

Today I am tired. And I'm tired of being tired. I'm tired of feeling sick all the time and trying to force food down my throat. I'm so irritable that I took off my snow boot and threw it at my dog (don't worry, it missed him). Today, I'm not sure I even like this baby. I feel like telling it to hit the road and find some other sucker to grow it.

Lucky for me, a package arrived in the mail today. My friend Carrie sent me a book called, "What to Expect When You're Expected." It is from the perspective of the unborn fetus and it is hilarious.

Here are a few of my favorite excerpts:

"Why is Mommy throwing up all the time?"

Short answer: You make her sick.

Long answer: She's suffering from a condition called morning sickness. In truth, the name is a double misnomer--not only can its symptoms strike at any and all hours, but as the daily result of a voluntary condition, it is technically not a sickness but a lifestyle choice.

On Nutrition

Ordering all your meals in is convenient. But it's also risky. You're putting your diet in Mommy's hands, and good nutrition is not something Americans are known for. The old cliche that pregnant women are "eating for two" is true only insofar as every American eats for two. At least two. Five, in Alabama. Many expectant moms have even come to believe that eating healthy may endanger their unborn child. They fear it will set him up as an outcast in a society that, at some point in the nineties, deemed the burrito a worthy addition to the breakfast table.

(And perhaps my favorite one for the day...)

Parental Diagnosis

Eyes, hair color, personality: Fetalcy is a time of uncertainty when it comes to many subjects. Most of these prompt little more than fun debate. But there's one question no embryo likes to joke about, one few even want to discuss: "Are my parents idiots?'

Until recently, that question could only be answered at birth. But breakthroughs in the field of parental diagnosis mean it's now possible to find out as early as the middle of the first trimester whether your mommy and daddy have any idea what they're doing.

There are now dozens of tests used to help determine if your parents are neither all that nor a bag of chips. These include analyses of TV habits, iPod playlists, ball-scratching frequency, even voting records. (Nader '04=mandatory adoption)

***

Most days I might think this book is crude, crass, and not lovey-dovey enough...but not today. =)

(Thanks, Carrie...)

I Left My ♥ in San Francisco

Last week I got to spend some time with my sister and her kids. I LOVE being "Auntie Tiff" and really enjoy being with Jacob and Cameron. I had a great time and got to see their daily routines--running club, orthodontist appointments, homework, popcorn and movie night--I loved it all! We did take one morning to have some sister time in San Francisco, which was very special. I love my California family! =)

Our Baby News!

Most of you who read this blog already know but, just in case you didn't, we're having a baby!!!

=)

We're really excited. I didn't post much in November--partly because I was busy with finals and partly because I was trying not to spill the beans!

We got to go home for Thanksgiving and tell our families in person. It was a REALLY special time and we will enjoy telling Baby Baker how surprised his/her grandparents, aunts, and uncles were. =)

We had our first doctor's appointment last week and everything looked great. The first appointment was with a certified nurse midwife and she was awesome. She answered all our questions and made us feel very comfortable. The best part, of course, was the ultrasound. I had NO idea what was what in the picture, but I COULD see a little heart beating on the screen!

I had been feeling pretty crummy for a couple of days but am eating more and feeling better. Thanks for all your prayers and love! We will welcome Baby Baker on or around July 10, 2010...

I get by with a little help from my friends

David and I have only had one car since we moved to Denver and most of the time we are able to make it work. Either he stays late at work, I go early to class, or he rides his bike. BUT, this quarter our schedules have been SO crazy...between David's clinical out in Golden, the fact that it gets dark at 5 p.m. and there's frequently snow on the bike path, and my night class that goes until 9:30, we have found ourselves in need of help on MORE than a few occasions!

Thanks to a couple of folks at Iliff and Trinity and BIG thanks to Greta, we've gotten everywhere we needed to be. But it hasn't been easy to ask for help! It's hard. It's humbling. I worry about taking advantage of my friends. But part of me knows that they aren't lying when they tell me they really don't mind helping me...and that's just the kind of friends they are.

I know it's a little early for Thanksgiving, but I am so grateful to the friends I have and for being part of a community!

It's always happening: Grace is afoot

My mentor and pastor friend shared this with me today. It's written by "Pastor Steve" and I wanted to share it with you:

Yesterday evening a friend wrote, “20 years ago today… the walls came tumblin’ down. Happy tumblin’ down day.” Oh, yeah; I’d forgotten: twenty years ago the Berlin Wall fell.

Vranna Lynn said, “The immovable crumbled...reality laughed at impossibility.” She said, “Concrete and barbed wire surrendered to flesh and bone and spirit.” Those are profound thoughts, and, I believe, a description not just of an extraordinary event, but of reality.

But what really struck me was that yesterday Vranna Lynn was thinking about freedom and transformation and transcendence…and millions of people in Germany were celebrating a remarkable event… and I was oblivious. It’s not that they needed me. The wall came down without my help, and they celebrated just fine without me. But I wonder: how often is something powerful happening, some liberating sea change, some miraculous healing, some earth-changing event unfolding, and I think otherwise?

The Berlin Wall fell because of many complex political and social forces. One was that people met for years in houses and church basements and prayed for the wall to fall, prayed for freedom and peace, and acted in that light in their daily lives. Of course, I had not been aware of that.

We tend to think about what we can see. So we think mostly of our own lives, and our daily chores, and less about the greater human family, less about the unseen powers. But the real essence of life is invisible energy, intangible connections, and unseen Presence. God’s basic mode of operation is grace and redemption, miracle and resurrection. It’s always happening. And sometimes it’s happening in big ways, as it did in Berlin, or in South Africa, or the Philippines… Our sin is not so often wickedness as it is self-centeredness and obliviousness.

I’m not saying you ought to join in every movement or remember every little anniversary that goes by. Just be mindful. Be mindful that despite the world’s vast injustices, grace is afoot; justice is coming; miracles happen; things can change; there’s more going on than you see; people right now are working for peace and justice; and, as some graffiti on the Berlin Wall said, “Many small people, who in many small places do many small things, can change the face of the world.” Every day is a day of liberation.

Happy tumblin’ down day.

Halloween Fun

We spent Halloween with our friends from Trinity and had a great time! Thomas was DJ-ing a show at the Meadowlark in downtown Denver so a group of us went to cheer him on.

Greta talked me into wearing her cheerleading outfit from highschool. I decided I would wear it only if I was a feminist cheerleader that cheered for female sports only. Greta dressed up as a roller derby girl and said I could cheer for her. =)

Thanks, A.

My dear friend A. posted this on her blog and I wanted to share it:

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and that I think I am following your will does not mean I am actually doing so.

But I believe the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all I am doing.
I hope I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know if I do this you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.

I will trust you always
though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

-- Thomas Merton

Meal Swap

My friend, Lorissa, and I have been doing a "meal swap" for the past couple of months and I've been encouraged to post something about it on our blog...

A couple of months ago we decided to try a meal swap. I plan two meals and Lorissa plans two meals and we make enough for both families. I usually spend a couple hours on Saturday or Sunday preparing our meals and then we find a time to get together and "swap". (It gives us a great excuse to get together!) 

Here's what I LOVE about meal swap:

*I only cook once a week and I get FOUR meals out of the deal

*During the work week we don't have to cook when we get home from a long day

*I get to try things I would never have thought to cook myself (Lorissa has made falafel, chowder, and maple-glazed salmon)

*I'm inspired to cook things I probably wouldn't make for just the two of us (Last time I made homemade egg rolls and fried rice!)

*We eat less meat. (We each plan one meal with meat and one meal without) 

*We swap every other weekend so it never feels overwhelming

I also love that it helps me practice mutual interdependence. In a culture that values "rugged individualism" and complete independence, participating in a meal swap reminds me of the joy that is found in mutual interdependence. I am learning that our burdens are a little lighter when we rely on each other and seek to live more communally.  

I ♥ Pam & Jim

Ok, I'm a total dork for posting this on our blog but I love this show and this video clip makes me happy. =)

A Birthday Shout Out!

I wanted to say, as publicly as possible, happy birthday to the very special woman who raised me.

Mom, I'm glad you were born! =)

Retreat Weekend

This weekend I got to go on retreat with the women's group at Trinity. We spent two days and two nights up at Snow Mountain Ranch (near Winter Park) and it was WONDERFUL! 

There were 41 of us and I rode up with Lee and Jennifer. (Two women from the Young Adults group) We were divided between two retreat cabins to sleep but met together for meals and large group sessions. 

Saturday was our only full day and it started early with morning prayers. The worship leader was India, the wife of a retired pastor, and all of her worship materials were written by J. Phillip Newell and Joyce Rupp. (I'll write more about them later!) We had a group session in the morning and then we could choose from the various breakout sessions that were offered. I chose to do the labyrinth with India. 

We did a mini pilgrimage walk to the labyrinth and then she led us in a body prayer before we walked it. The body prayer used movements from Tai Chi and as we did each movement, India spoke aloud the prayer. It was beautiful! I had tears in my eyes because it felt like such a holy, sacred experience. There was something really magical about being in the mountains, in a circle of women, praying with my body, thanking God for God's blessings, and praying for courage, wisdom, and strength. The way the movements worked, when we used our left side, we were praying for ourselves and when we used our right side we were praying for the world. We extended our arms to the sky, held them close to our body, and then extended them wide. It was an embodied way to express the way we receive from God, recognize God's presence and activity in our own life, and then extend God's goodness to the world around us. 

That afternoon we had a lot of free time so I did some yoga with Lee, got a chair massage, and took a nap. Saturday night we ate dinner by candlelight and enjoyed each other's company!

The theme of the weekend was "Pathways through Transition" and the retreat leader had us do a lot of reflection on the transitions in our lives. She compared the experience of transition to the biblical experience in the wilderness. She reminded us of the wandering that the Israelites did in the wilderness for 40 years before they entered the Promised Land and she suggested that the time in the wilderness was less about getting the Israelites out of Egypt and more about getting Egypt out of the Israelites. 

We talked a lot about how uncomfortable it can be to be in transition. We spent time in conversation with each other sharing what resources help us when we are in transition. We were given time to journal and encouraged to reflect on these three questions: What is it time to let go of in your life? What is unlived in your life? What is waiting in the wings of your life to "come on stage?" 

It was a really wonderful weekend. Not only was I given a respite in the midst of our chaotic lives to reflect and journal, but I got to meet and know some incredible women who "loved me up," nurtured me, and encouraged me. It was a real experience of community! 

Here are a couple of "nuggets" from this weekend that I wanted to share:

Ring the bells that still can ring 

Forget your perfect offering 

There is a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in. 

--L. Cohen

What will you do with your one wild and precious life? 

--Mary Oliver

Every time you listen with great attentiveness to the voice that calls you the Beloved,

you will discover within yourself a desire to hear that voice longer and more deeply.

--Henri Nouwen

Become aware of what is in you.

Announce it,

pronounce it,

produce it,

and give birth to it.

--Meister Eckhart

If God the Great Creator has used the medium of chaos before, then what is God creating out of the present chaos of my life?

Life does not accommodate you, it shatters you.

Every seed destroys its container or else there would be no fruition. 

Be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. 

Then gradually you will live into the answers. 

--Rainer Maria Rilke

Run For Congo Women on Oprah

My Husband is AMAZING

So, in addition to being manly enough to run in a race that raises money for women in the Congo and letting hundreds of girls beat him because he is running at his wife's pace, my husband just found out that he passed his OB class! Only 2 more quarters and I am married to a NURSE!!! =) 

Steve and Patty's Visit

To have family that loves you is just about the greatest thing in the world. Enough said. =)

Learning to Love My Body: 10K Success!

Well, I did it! =)

I would have posted sooner but we have been enjoying our time with Steve and Patty who came for the weekend. (I'll post that next!) 

David and I ran the 10K in 1:12. David was sweet and ran at my pace--I KNOW he could have finished in half the time. For most of the race I was the very last runner, but somewhere around mile 4 we caught up with some runners who had decided to walk and ended up NOT finishing last. It meant a lot to us that Steve and Patty were there at the finish line to cheer us on! 

I was able to keep the same (albeit slow) pace for the entire race and did not stop to walk. Before I run my next long race I will need to practice grabbing water from a water station and drinking it while running--a lot of it went up my nose!

The weather was perfect and Bear Creek Lake was a picturesque place to run. I was worried that, since all of my training had been on a treadmill, I would have trouble running on the trail. There were a couple of tricky places (hilly and rocky) that I had to REALLY slow down but I stayed upright the entire time. =) 

One of the most memorable things about the day was hearing from Ani* before the race. Ani is a woman who came to the United States a year ago from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She told part of her story about what life was like for her in the DRC. She spoke about the violence of war, the raping of women, and the rejection of women by their families after they have been raped. She talked about the effects of war, violence, and rejection on women's minds, bodies, and spirits. She cried as she told us that she was a victim herself. 

And then another woman, someone who works with Women for Women International, put her arm around Ani, looked her in the eye and said something to this effect: Ani, you are a brave, brave woman. You are beautiful and courageous. What was done to you was NOT your fault. You have to remember that. It is a horrific thing that was done to you and we are so grateful that you are here to tell your story so that horrific things might be stopped. 

In a world where women's bodies are exploited, sold, violated, hypersexed, and undervalued I believe that, for women, learning to love and care for our own bodies is a theological issue. We must believe our own bodies, however well they function or however too small/too big our various parts may be, are sacred and holy. I think that this is part of the work that Women for Women International is doing in the world and I am grateful for your generous donations. (Thanks to you, David and I raised over $250!) 

So here's to Ani, here's to women, and here's to loving, loving, loving our bodies!