Snow for a Day :)

Bright and early this morning (about 11 am for me :), after a yummy home brewed gingerbread latte, Allan and I decided it was time to venture beyond the balmy 50 degree weather of Albuquerque into the snowy Sandia peak. Now, from the second floor of our apartment complex, Sandia peak appears to have a lovely, light dusting of holiday glitter rather than a 28 inch layer of hard core snow, which is exactly what we found, along with a strong, bitterly cold wind that was enough to remind me why I don't live in Ohio anymore. After "hiking" (eg: Laura getting stuck in snow drifts and falling over)for a couple of hours I had my much needed White Christmas fix and was happy for the short drive back to more mild temperature and cloud moderated sunshine! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!! Much love and many blessings!! ~ Laura

It's a chilly evening in Albuquerque! It seems winter is finally upon us just in time for the Christmas season. I love the holidays - the excitement, the celebration of a year about to be complete. Looking back over the past year, I am amazed at how many changes have taken place in my life - moving, grad school, new friends, marriage - it has been a year of goodness and a year of transition to new and exciting things!
Now that winter break is here and time is a little more abundant, we've got the tree decorated, made Christmas cookies, and begun the endless Christmas movie marathons! We also decided to take advantage of break to do a cheap-o trip to Taos and Old Town. Here are some of the pictures from those adventures along with an advent prayer that I dearly love!

An Advent Prayer for Peace

“I Have Come to Bring You Peace”

I have come to bring you peace.

Not the peace of the season, for it is too fleeting,

Not the peace of the carol, for it is too nostalgic,

Not the peace of the greeting card, for it is too slick,

Not the peace of the crib, for it is too wistful.

Rather, I have come to bring you peace,

Peace of the ordinary, the daily, the homely,

Peace for the worker, the driver, the student,

Peace in the office, the kitchen, the farm.

I have come to bring you peace,

The peace of accepting your self as I fashioned you,

The peace of knowing yourself as I know you,

The peace of loving yourself as I love you,

The peace of being yourself as I am who I am.

I have come to bring you peace,

The peace that warms you at the completion of a task,

The peace that invades you at the close of the day,

The peace that sustains you at the beginning of the day,

The peace that reinforces you when you are reconciled with one another,

The peace that touches you when your family is in order.

Without peace, my coming is unfulfilled.

Without peace, my birth is forgettable.

Without peace, Christmas is a contradiction.

I have come to bring you peace.

Pumpkin goodness

So fall is officially here, although the hot Albuquerque weather would have you think otherwise! But the fact is undeniable and even the warm days here are getting shorter and the nights chillier. The leaves are starting to turn yellow and the chilies are roasting! Indeed it is autumn...my favorite season!! And nothing better to get myself in the mood for it than a home made pumpkin spice latte and what I like to call pumpkin spice whoopie pies (the actual recipe calls them something else, but that's irrelevant to me)! I am passing the photos (of how they turned out for me) and the recipes along for these tasty fall treats!! Happy autumn everyone :)

Pumpkin Spice Latte
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/beverage/diy-pumpkin-spice-latte-096277


Pumpkin Creme Pies (AKA, Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies)
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/holidays/pumpkin-creme-pies/

The Miraculous Staircase Santa Fe, New Mexico

My friend Perry told me about this amazing work of architecture and I finally got to see it in person!! If you would like to know more about its history and construction see the link below :)


http://www.lorettochapel.com/history.html


Here are some more fun church pictures from Santa Fe!

Cibola National Forest :)

Photos for my family

The Scenic Route

Sometimes there are twists in the road...things I wasn't expecting to find...sometimes beautiful views and sometimes unexpected obstacles. Life is an adventure. I kind of like the unexpected - it keeps things interesting.

I was not expecting to find someone along the way, but I met the surprise of my life last summer....and then didn't see him for quite awhile, but he reappeared on my life's road just a few months before my planned move to New Mexico. So I had to decide...which direction to take...the scenic road in good company, or mapquest it alone...one is simpler to gauge and the other has more twists and turns...but the journey is always more joyous when shared in good company.

A leg of the journey that I was not expecting to continue was my work in early intervention. Needless to say, I was given the opportunity to continue this leg of my journey as a bilingual service coordinator here in Albuquerque with Alta Mira, an NGO that works with children and adults with developmental disabilities. I find myself to be a reluctant social worker...drawn to the work by the people on the margins, not by the system or structure that places them there...

Perhaps the most surprising turn of events in this journey is the economic traffic jam that most likely will require me to delay my MA study at UNM until next fall...It's ironic that the very thing that has lead me to ABQ is the one thing I may have to wait for...Life is difficult to understand, but if it were easy it would be boring. I don't know where this will end, but I'm enjoying the view along the scenic route :)

A note about New Mexico :)

Today makes one week since I have returned from my trip to New Mexico! I had a fantastic time, meeting new and wonderful people (especially the fine young Menno folks from AMC! Your hospitality was exceptional!!! Mil Gracias!).
I of course spent time getting to know the campus at UNM, in particular the LAII (Latin American and Iberian Institute). I fell in love with the program and the faculty and found the LAS (Latin American Studies) graduate students to be very welcoming and helpful; by my second day on campus I felt like I knew my way around, almost like a pro ;) For those of you who know me, this is a big deal since some days I have trouble telling right from left.
The faculty took the time to meet with me one on one and gave me insightful suggestions and advice about which direction I want to go with my study and career. In addition to showing me around campus, the LAS students took time to chat, share contact information and advice and even to seek me out when the faculty let them know I was visiting. The warmth of the sunshine,people,terracotta red buildings,and spicy green chilies is hard to resist!
So on Monday of this week I took the plunge and made official what my heart already knew - New Mexico is my choice. If you had asked me 3 months ago where I would be going to graduate school in the fall, I would never have dreamed it would be UNM. I like to think that I make decisions based on thinking and reason, which I do, but I have come to also appreciate the value of trusting my intuition and yes, my heart. It's a strange feeling when your heart leaps in response to something, and that is how it has been since I found UNM. I don't remember when I have prayed about something so much and really spent time thinking about what I need to be happy, to feel fulfilled, to feel connected and called to what I was doing. I guess this is one of those times when my decision does not have a clear, simple, business like answer, but this decision makes me smile and that feels really good.
I do not have an official move date yet, but I am thinking possibly in June. I am applying for a fellowship to fund my study, but also hoping to find a job in case funding does not come through. Please be in prayer for the puzzle pieces to come together as I get ready for this big change!
Below are some fun pictures from exploring Santa Fe and hiking with Katie :) I also want to thank Bethany and Gabe and all the folks at the Plex for good coffee, good food, and above all good company!

Sassy strawberry plant Soy :)

Bloom where you are planted. But usually only the tough weeds grow between the cracks in the cement. I don't know if I'm a tough weed. In conversation with my friend Ximena, we began talking about what images we find meaningful for understanding and talking about life. One of tough weed or delicate flower does not work for me, but a hearty little plant with flowers and sweet, juicy fruit sounds about right. I like strawberries, a lot. I love them as an image for how I understand my life - strawberry plants need the right soil, need the right amount of water, and the right amount of sunlight; I too need an environment I can thrive in and grow in. Strawberries are notorious for spreading all over the place - they send out runners in all directions and can be hard to keep under control - me too - I tend to send out runners in all directions, whether because of academic ADD or because I feel restless, or because I'm searching for the right soil - I sometimes feel like I am all over the place, but I also know that I need the space to explore, to grow, to spread so that I can bloom and enjoy the fruit of my labor. I feel like I have been looking for the right place to grow wild, but maybe I need to be okay with containment too, to "bloom where I'm planted" so to speak. I'm not sure, but I'll keep sending out runners :)