on this, the day after our thanksgiving

we ate a healthy breakfast: apples, oats and dairy.
and exercised:
dance, dance, dance!

the bus and other things related

I took Rachel to the hospital yesterday afternoon. we took the bus.
I love Pamplona's bus system
I love that people of all classes ride on the bus
I love that people of all nationalities ride the bus
I love that I see well dressed women in high heals running to catch the bus
I love that I can catch a bus ten yards from my front door and take that same bus all the way into the heart of Pamplona.
I love that almost every time I ride the bus I see some sort of reunion - - people greeting a neighbor or a family member or an old acquaintance that they haven't seen in years . . .

I DIDN'T love it so much yesterday when the man that was behind me on the bus kept pushing me in the back and telling me to keep walking down the bus' narrow isle even though the people in front of me weren't moving and the bus was braking and curving at the same time.

but I DO love Rachel, and and I DID totally enjoy the time we had together as we waited for her to get checked in. we had coffee. (and then a chocolate croissant, and then she had a natural yogurt - - good girl, yeah? and I had a pincho - - a teeny tiny baguette with a slice of cured ham with a strip of roasted italian green pepper) all while we talked about things like the cute things we've seen on etsy and how we can't wait for Abi and Nathaniel to come and visit us for Christmas . . .

and I tucked her in, and took the bus home.

and today he is three

Happy Birthday to our three year old who likes to wake us up with his cheerful singing in the morning! (and although I don't always love it when it happens, it makes me happy when I think about it later in the day!)

hey Josu, what was your favorite present today?
was it the Peter Pan toy with the baby sword?
was it the books from Gran?
the blocks from Grandma?
the retro tin lunch box from Aunt Jamey and Uncle Noah?
the picture that David drew for you and left uncolored so that you could color it in?
or was is the super cute sock elephant with many wonderful accessories (that Mama spent hours and hours and hours toiling over)?

what!? the cake? it was the cake?

oh. I guess I'm not surprised. I love you.

because sometimes, you just have to:

the talk

right, so - - the talk.
it was awesome . . .
Sure, there was some disappointment - - lots of the friends and neighbors that had said that they wanted to come, didn't actually come. ok, none of them actually came. kind of stinky.

but the good, good news is that:
1. Joshua really did a fantastic job sharing; the way he was able to communicate the more technical elements of the historical Jesus, while still communicating a tender love and passionate fervor for this historical Jesus was astounding. I sure do like him.
2. aside from our Cristian community and a couple of exclusive invited guests, there were four individuals that came. FOUR!
3. the interaction time at the end of the talk was outstanding; I mean, how can you not get giddy about one of the guys there saying - - "there is so much indifference in our Spanish Catholicism; I can't help but wonder that if the nuns had taught us stuff like this, we might actually be excited about following Jesus"!
4. our Community got together at our place for pizza after the talk. we invited everyone at the talk to come and join us. and do you know what? someone did!

and yes, I know,this has already been a long post - - a bit tedious and cumbersome for those who insist on "fewer words and more pictures!" (Mercy Newton!) but I really must go on a bit longer to relate what may have been the greatest marker of success; read on my friends:

context: 3/4 the way through Joshua's talk, he made the point that the kingdom of God could not be advanced through violence . . .
Malachai (who brought along his paper and crayons and sat quietly during the talk): "Mama, I've been thinking"
me: "mmmmm? (oh my goodness, he's just like his father!)"
Malachai: "well, when I'm an adult, and if there is a war, I am going to get a loudspeaker and say to the soldiers 'he who lives by the sword will die by the sword, put down your swords!' and then I will invite them over for dinner. Will you make them dinner when I bring them home?"
me: "yes my sweet boy, yes. I would love, love that! I will make a huge, wonderful dinner for all the soldiers (oh my goodness, he's just like his father!)"

tonight. 8pm. be there.

there is this really cool thing about the Holy Spirit - - he gives gives the gifts that he wants to the people he wants, and his gifts are good.

there is this really cool thing about Joshua - - he is faithful to exercise the good gifts that the Spirit has given him.
Joshua will be giving a public talk tonight (8 pm) in our city's local culture center - - sharing about the historical Jesus and the revolutionary expectations that would have come in his context (it's fascinating; really, really fascinating!)
pray for him!
(p.s. Spain is 9 hours ahead of CA, 8 hours ahead of ID, and 7 hours ahead of TX . . . you still have time!)

I invited her in

because sometimes, caring for someone's soul and challenging her entire world view and self identity is easier to do over coffee:a JW woman has been coming over for the past few weeks.
In times past, I've had the darndest time actually engaging in profitable dialogue with a Jehovah's Witness.
it's been a little bit better this time. a little.
this Thursday, Silvia and I start studying the Gospel of Mark together - - something I proposed to keep us from jump, jump, jumping from proof text to proof text.
Please pray for me, that as I talk with Silvia, that I would listen carefully, question thoughtfully, and faithfully handle God's word.
and pray that the Holy Spirit would work wonders. he does that. I need that.

good social tips from Naomi

being on the end of a (rockin'!) Halloween party, and on the eve of a season of many more parties, I thought I would write up a bit of an etiquette guide for all you party throwers and party goers out there. if you have any questions about specific issues that I don't address here, feel free to email me and I can point you in the right direction!
party goer:
if the party thrower asks you to dress up, well then, by all means, dress up! your costume will (probably) make the other party goers have a good chuckle and have an extra fantastic time. It will make for outstanding pictures, and will make the party thrower feel really great about his super party.
(Rachel is a faithful adherent to this partying value and can here be seen dressed up as, and nearly indistinguishable from, the original Gwen Stefani)
party thrower:
if the party goer comes having payed no regard to the request to dress up, choose not to view this incident as a personal offense. remind yourself that party goer has indeed come, and that that is what really matters.
party goer:
when at the party, the party thrower may have put together a list of activities - - probably ones that he thinks are pretty fun. do your best to participate fully; laughing a lot, cheering other people on, and clapping others on the shoulder are all appropriate ways to communicate that you are having a grand old time participating in the organized activities.
party thrower:
if you find that a particular guest is reticent to participate in the activities or just seems to be "moping around", do your best to cheerfully involve that guest - - bring him a drink and a snack, and urge him about two or three times to come live the fun life. if he refuses, avoid thinking things like "boy, what a jerk", and instead, try to think things like " man, he must have had a long day; I hope he feels better soon"
party goer:
remember that, unless the party thrower has asked you to bring a specific dish, you should come without one! the party thrower has probably enjoyed putting together the menu and wants you to come without having to worry about details (other than your costume, of course)
party thrower:
If a party goer shows up at your cocktail party with a bag full of hamburgers that they picked up along the way, thank the party goer profusely, remember that your guest matters more than your menu, and then chop up those hamburgers into little squares, stick little toothpicks in them, and put them on the silver tray along side of the crab cakes!

and now . . . a couple more pictures from the awesome rocker-themed Halloween party:
Joshua - - with the sweetest mohawk evahhhh
what does Cindi Lauper's baby wear? leggings and converse, of course.

what my neighbors have to say about the elections:

Juan Luis: (a pasteleria contact) "I don't care who wins, I just hope that whoever wins brings success to your country - - because if you do well, we'll do well"

Begonia: (a friend - - and a mother of one of Malachai's classmates) "I was watching the news last night and saw huge, huge lines of people waiting to vote for your future president; AND I heard that in the United States, you don't get four hours off of work to go to vote like we do here in Spain; I could hardly believe it - - with the Unites States supposedly being a forward country!"

The general word on the street: "finally! George Bush is out!"

you and me, we make a good team

I teach our sweet children important things like: "when you brush your teeth and spit the toothpaste out into the sink, make sure to splash some water onto the trail of toothpaste foam and wash it down the drain."
You teach our sweet children things like: "Josu, where is God? yeeeees, He is everywhere; is he everything? noooooooooo . . . that's pantheism, and that is a false view of God"