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 :)