on k. koomas

kristopher is a nephew too. he hangs out. he's cutting teeth now and likes to be cranky sometimes. he also likes to not wear clothes. we don't know what he may turn out to be, but he's cute.

his face definitely says koomas. big greek eyes.

on n. koomas

our nephew nick likes dinosaurs. he growls good. he also likes vegetables. he doesn't like peanut butter and jelly. he may turn out to be a gourmet.

joe took these. you can see "papa" freeman in his face

missing media

still no camera cord.

and everybody's sick around here! whoever said the stomach flu is hard to catch hasn't been to our church lately. our pastor and his family have been especially hit. and my parents-in-law too, and so many others. oh Lord, please heal us!

the skies are blue today. :)

color and light

today is rainy and the sky is gray. it's one of those days where you have to keep the joy of your salvation at the front of your brain in order to keep from feeling like the sky. i often feel like the sky...although in the case of a blue sky, i don't feel blue, but rather happy...pink or yellow, i guess, if you were to put a color to it. actually, yellow doesn't make me happy. what makes me happy about yellow is the effect it has on all the other colors. the sun shines yellow upon every earthly thing. the world smiles and basks in its yellow touch, and then the grass looks ever greener for it. that is, the sun, though its cast is yellow, makes every other color shine more confidently in their own beautiful shade.

well, i do like yellow in roses and lemons, but i can't wear it. my husband likes yellow, especially in '68 ford mustangs. red also makes me happy, as if it was wine to gladden the heart.

i had a chat (somewhat related to color) with our landlady one day about light and dark, and since then I have been thinking of it a great deal. i am, like many women, one who is greatly affected by darkness. the effect is not manifested in any way like Jekyl and Hyde, but it is real and it is spiritual. when joe and i moved here from idaho, we left an apartment that was half underground and had a total of three windows. moscow also had lots of winter months, and as i found out, way too many for me. i did not realize what an affect that darkness had on my soul until we moved here. the fact that i'm getting a lot more vitamin D may be a part of it, but my soul almost flies out of my chest every single morning when i wake and see the sun shining through our windows. if i am in the kitchen or the living room or the bathroom, where the light is constant and the ground looking out the window is where it should be and not at eye level, then i am lifted in spirit. if am in our bedroom, however, where the window doesn't face any light at all and only grants a reminder of how far under ground we are in that part of the house, then i feel heavy. i don't want to go in there. i gravitate toward the light.

my conversation with our landlady was about the fact that darkness bothers us (and conversely, that light rejuvinates us) because of who we are in Christ. God tells us that we have been transferred from the dominion of darkness into His marvelous light. He tells us that He is light, that Satan only disguises himself as an angel of light, but we really know him to be darkness itself. darkness is a dominion. for me, night time is the worst time to think because it breeds doubt and fear. thankfully though, night is as day to our God, and the darkness cannot overcome Him. i am safe in the light of Christ. and i have been given a holy disgust for darkness. it is not my friend. i do not dwell there. my mind is being renewed in Christ and i love the light. does this, then, have anything to do with the way i feel, or should feel, when it's a gray and rainy day? or the way i feel when my house doesn't have enough windows?

now, i know that every person has their own taste. but here's something that really bothers me about where we live. it amazes me that folks can live in these redwoods. personally, joe and i live among the redwoods, but not in them and there's a big difference...the sun has plenty of room to make its way through our house and touch our skin. but you take a drive down highway 9 and see hundreds of homes tucked way back under the boughs of ancient trees, and these homes are dark and rotting and green with mold. they have been sitting there for a hundred years, some of them, and they never see the light of the sun nor feel one life-giving ray. and that, to me, is death. but very often, the folks who come out of those homes look about as alive as their living quarters. it scares me that there are people living in these places, and either they like it or they just don't realize what a nasty whole it is...and maybe both. their clothes are even the same colors - earthy green, brown, black. i guess it's just the santa cruz mountains for you. but, i see something here that i cannot ignore. it reminds me of sin.

"and their foolish hearts were darkened." those whom Christ has not claimed for Himself are left in darkness and the sadness of it is that because of sin, they like it. they are drawn to dark deeds and dark lives, just as we who contrastly have been renewed in Christ are drawn by Him to holiness. and thus, since our theology comes out our fingertips, it seems that our homes will reflect our hearts whether we realize it or not. it also tells me that physical darkness to some degree will disturb those whose lives have been set free from the domain of spiritual darkness. though surely not every Christian will be affected by darkness the way i tend to be, i think there is a connection between light and dark, and our souls. and, i don't think it's an accident that God created us to do most of our living during the hours of light, out in the light, and to sleep when its dark.

so, today is rainy and gray. that is true, and it doesn't feel good. but, is the gray sky troublesome? should it cause my mood to slouch or my soul to whither? i think not. though it may threaten, it does not own me, for Christ has me, and the gray of the sky is no final commentary on the state of my soul. it is well with my soul. thank you, Lord, that you condescend to make our darkness, light; our night, day; our blindness, sight. we sing this to You in great thankfulness, and we know You will keep us even if we walk through the valley of the shadow of death:

"now, rest beneath night's shadow;

the woodland and the meadow,

the world in slumber lies,

but, thou my heart awake thee,

to prayer and song betake thee,

in praise to God arise.

The radiant sun hath vanished,

His golden rays are banished

by night, the foe of day;

but Christ the Sun of gladness,

dispeling all my sadness,

within my heart holds sway.

Lord Jesus who dost love me,

O, spread Thy wings above me

and shield me from alarm;

though darkness would assail me

Thy mercy will not fail me.

I rest in Thy strong arm."

a lullaby from The Cantus Christi

Paul Gerhardt, 1648

i can't believe what a horrible blogger i am

merry 2007!

losing the camera cord has completely thrown me into a funk! if i can't post pictures, is it even WORTH the trouble? i mean, when one takes the time to travel to a blog, one expects pictures. viewer ratings for blogs with pictures are much higher. can't imagine what has happened to that cord.

well, i guess i'll have to be old fashioned and use words.

our Christmas was a blessing in that we got to be with family for the second year in row. we are keeping track of the time because it is no less than God's miracle that we are still living and thriving in Santa Cruz, and we will by no means be taking it for granted. so, check: another balmy Christmas at mom and dad's (both), where the fireplace is only going for ambiance. (well, put that way, that's kinda lame...but i very much appreciate the balmyness of CA and not freezing this winter).

our Christmas was also a ball of stress in many ways, as i'm confident many of yours was (were?...what's the correct grammar here??) as well. it's bizarre that it tends to be that way, and i think that satan is very gleeful over that fact. so, my prayer was to not get stress-blitzed, and thankfully, come Christmas Eve Service, God gave me great calm to worship Christ with a joyful and uncrowded heart. this was my BIGGEST prayer.

it's tricky when you're secretarying over the Christmas holiday, especially when Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday, and Christmas partying plans fall on the same day. trying to ensure that the church office produced the proper periphanalia for the different services was where the stress began. from there it was like a marathon. so, for next year, my side of the family has decided to alter our "traditions" so that we won't be marathoning with church services, and thus we keep Christ at the center. whew. what a relief.

joe contracted the common cold come Christmas Eve, and so there we were in the music service, me singing my heart out and joe his voice. he just was not himself, and poor guy had to work Christmas day. but, we're over it. really. dumb bugs.

things have approached normal again, after i was done with my contracting fever and chills last week. thankfully my body just doesn't do stomach flu, as that's going around. joe, on the other hand...well, i'm praying hard and pumping him with elderberry extract and whatever else richard the whole-nutrition consultant at New Leaf says is good to ward off the evil stomach flu spirits. elderberry extract is quite delicious.

we are currently in prayer for a developement regarding joe's occupation. though we are excited about it, i cannot say more at present since it is still in the works, but if you think of it, please pray for us, for God's hand of evident direction, and that our patience would prove stronger than our desire to know what's going on. we very much look forward to seeing what God has for us this year. and joe and i can't believe we are in our 4th year of marriage - what a HUGE BLESSING! we have had so much fun. it is true that each year has carried a different trial, but we have realized God's faithfulness to us in all of it and even now.

so what's up for us this 2007?

OUR plans include: dance lessons (again...forgot most everything from before), handbell chior, job change (?), building second bedroom, organizing every closet in the house, losing 10 pounds (well, that's for me...joe hopes to GAIN ten), reading with gusto, becoming proficient at the cello, watching 3rd season of LOST, sewing every Amy Butler pattern ever created, and a baby, maybe. :0)

GOD'S plans include: ???

oh, and big news - we got a real, landline phone, that's, like, connected to the wall! it's red and old fashioned and adorable. we also got an answering machine and everything! but, if you wan't our number, you have to call us on our cells...and if you don't have that number, well you're not getting it from here! drop us an email, or a snail mail. :)

so, pictures...sorry, they're just not happing right now. Christmas pictures do exist, and someday they'll be available for your viewing pleasure. but by then you won't care anymore, so i may just forget the whole thing and stick with words...

...at least until i find that camera cord.