They're Back!!

John's parents are missionaries in São Paulo, Brazil. They are wonderful, loving people and we have been blessed by their presence with us a lot this year. As John's health has required additional support at home, they have come to lend a hand. They were here from the first of December until the end of February. They were home only a few short weeks when this recent valley appeared and we felt the need for their return. They are at this moment en route by plane to O'Hare, here in Chicago.

Anticipating their return, I thought I would share a few of the things I look forward to about their visits. When the Fawcetts are here, I feel like I live in a hotel. The only thing that is missing... and I mean the ONLY thing, is a little mint on my pillow at night.

I hope you enjoy these snapshots in the lives of the Fawcetts at the Fawcetts.

These are the tell tale signs that Bill and Mary have arrived!

Playing with the children.

Attack of the Sea Monster

Celebrating Birthdays

Making treats for a Tea Party.

Butterfly sandwiches are a must!

Home Repair

Fixing Charlotte's Kitchen

Hanging Pictures

Washing Dishes

A Shiny Sink to make The Flylady Proud

Complete Home Organization! Tupperware lids labelled to match containers!

All kinds of new appliances.

Thanks for the new toaster and convection oven...

and the phone system.

The many aspects of good nutrition

Organic fruits and veggies for cooking and juicing.

The Breakfast of Champions

Veggies prepped for juicing

The nutritionally savvy can find a way to make a delicious pecan pie using whole wheat flour, organic pecans, Sucanat and brown rice syrup. Mmmmm.

And then there are the vitamins.

Vitamins are a big deal with the Fawcetts. As a kid, John could swallow 16 at a time.

The vitamins are piled in groups.

Bill makes daily vitamin packets.

We find these packets of vitamins on the table each morning.

And then there's the laundry. My laundry hamper gets lonely with no dirty clothes to keep it company.

I have never seen a stack of ironed pillowcases. Have you?

My linen closets are stuffed and orderly. Not even Martha Stewart can boast a linen closet like this!

I wasn't kidding about the mint on my pillow. Doesn't that look inviting?

Did I ever tell you the story about making our bed when we were first married? I made our bed and then John came in and "taught" me how to make a bed. "There is an art to bed making, you know." I burst into tears and felt he could feel free to make his own bed ever since! Hospital corners are a big thing with the Fawcetts.

If you want to keep things moving along in ordering a home and caring for an ill person, make a list for morning and evening chores.

Another sign that the Fawcetts are in town is that one of Mary's four siblings often makes an appearance. Because Mary lives out of the country, her siblings try to see her when she is in the states. The above photo is her brother John. The photo below is John's twin Bobbi and her husband Dave.

Last, but certainly not least in the Chicago area is snow shoveling.

Here is Mary helping me dig out in order to get the van into the driveway. It is comical that I have a picture of Mary shovelling. She did it this one time and poor Bill, who probably shovelled fifty times, didn't make the photo shoot!

We love you so much Bill and Mary, Mother and Daddy, Mimi and PawPaw.

Thank you for everything and welcome... home.

The Lord Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.
John 11:25

The Morning of the Resurrection 1882
Burne-Jones, Sir Edward Coley (1833-1898)
Photograph by Carol Gerten-Jackson

Thank you all for your love and prayers. We have been united with you in the Spirit because you have carried us in your hearts during your celebration of the Resurrection today.

Visiting John at the hospital on Saturday morning.

I wonder if Dr. Hantel will be surprised to hear John's voice greet him in the morning? He left open a small window for the possibility, but certainly did not expect it. Lord willing, Dr. Hantel will have at least one more coherent conversation with John Fawcett. He will once again have to patiently endure John's twenty-minute response to the question, "On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your pain?" Or perhaps Dr. Hantel will be regaled by the tale of his own starring role as a double agent in one of John's incoherent dreams. Oh wait... that's what happened to me.

Charlotte feeding her Daddy the custard she made.

Beginning Saturday morning, John's mind began to clear. His lungs are still compromised and he is very weak, but it has been wonderful to have John back (culinary critiques not included).

Friends from Church of the Resurrection moving furniture to make room for a hospital bed.

Thank you all for building a wall of love and prayers around us this weekend. Blessings to you.

Christmas Traditions

December of 1997 found me both weeping and indignant over the failed attempt at dating that John and I had experienced that year. At the time, we were both on staff at Church of the Resurrection, thus both in attendance at the annual Staff and Vestry Christmas party. This is a potluck gathering hosted by the Rector, at that time William and Anne Beasley. This party came a few weeks after John so poignantly told me, "I don't want to hurt your feelings, Margie, but I am not in love with you." Considering the way things had been going, I was not surprised, but certainly not without wound either. Here ended what we now refer to as Act I.

Act I was followed by a two-year intermission. After one year, John came to ask my forgiveness for not offering me the level of commitment I needed. To this I simply replied, "I do forgive you, but if you are hoping that we are going to get back together, that is not going to happen. I know what I need now and you are not it." (Ouch.) Another year passed before we began dating again, which was a miracle. I will have to save that story for another time. (Or you can buy a copy of the DVD of John and me telling our story at a Gathering Place event a few years ago.)

So, here we are at the Beasley's home in December '97. Everyone is bringing in their covered dishes and I am trying to avoid John at all costs. (This is how I got the nickname Frosty Margarita.) I was loving Martha Stewart at the time and prepared a fabulous new recipe from her collection called Sweet Potato Spoon Bread. It is a warm and creamy, wonderfully aromatic holiday dish. I went through the buffet line much before John, but was leaving the dining room just as he was coming around to the Sweet Potato Spoon Bread. I "happened" to watch him as he filled the serving spoon and lifted it to his nose for a sniff. I saw him put the spoon down. I was furious. How dare he sniff my food and reject it? The moment was a snapshot of our dating history.
John will you tell you that he sniffed it, loved it and even returned for seconds. This part obviously missed my awareness.

Both because I love the recipe and because it holds such fond relationship memories for us, I make it every Christmas. I am including the recipe for you if you would like to try an alternative to the sliced sweet potatoes with marshmallows this year.

The Fawcett's Sweet Potato Spoon Bread
from Martha Stewart
Serves 8 to 10

3 large sweet potatoes
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 cups milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp all-purpose flour
1/4 cup honey
4 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake sweet potatoes until soft when pierced with a knife, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool. Peel, and discard skins.

2. Reduce the heat to 350. In a medium saucepan over medium heat combine cornmeal, milk, butter, brown sugar, spices, salt and 1 cup water. Cook, stirring until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

3. Butter a two-quart baking dish. Place cornmeal mixture, sweet potatoes, flour, honey, eggs, and cream in a food processor. Process until smooth; pour into dish. (If you do ahead, freeze at this point and increase baking time when cooked from frozen.) Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Serve.

A few notes from experience:
A double recipe will fit in a 9 x 13, but increase baking time.
You can make this ahead and freeze it before baking it.
I often double the recipe, bake one at Thanksgiving and freeze the other for Christmas.

Hope you enjoy this culinary trip down memory lane.

Playdates with Mary Poppins

Charlotte and Josiah have been troopers with being packed up and shipped off to the homes of their friends in the last few weeks. Charlotte loves an adventure so she enjoys many play dates. Josiah enjoys being away from Mama for a shorter time, so he sometimes misses the fun. Yes, these play dates are amazingly fun for the kids. This is because their play dates are often created by Mary Poppins herself (Sally), or one of my friends (Sally)/family masquerading as such. Charlotte came home with a CRAFT from a play date on Saturday. Can you believe it? Not only did she have a craft (Sally), she brought a type-written itinerary (Sally) of her day with photographs (Sally).

Now Moms out there, take a deep breath.

This is not a competition.

PLUS, it is Advent and having internal space and calm is critical in making space in your heart and home for the worship of Jesus at Christmas.

This little angel is special you see;

Because she is a part of me.

Her wings are my hands,

Her body my feet,

And on the tree she'll look very sweet.

With that said, I thought some of you might like to see this darling little craft and give it a whirl. I have included the link where you can get specific instructions if your kiddos need something to do one afternoon this week. http://www.dltk-bible.com/mhandsangel.html

Home again, home again, jig-itty jog

It was a warm and colorful autumnal day as I drove to Naperville to collect John from the hospital. The doctor was satisfied with the progress John made overnight. He was willing to release him knowing that he has appointments scheduled for outpatient care on Thursday and Friday. I was thrilled to gather up all of his personal items and start the homeward process.

Speaking of gathering his personal items, now that this experience is in the past, I will let you all in on a Fawcett family secret. My husband is HIGH MAINTENANCE. If you haven't seen the movie that popularized that phrase, let me just say that HIGH MAINTENANCE applies to anyone for whom a happy stay away from home includes: a box fan, a fluffy pillow, two types of yogurt, freshly sliced papaya, organic honey-sweetend rice pudding, immune support cereal, fresh apple,carrot,and celery juice, an empty Baja Fresh cup, long underwear, white and black socks, an anti-embolism stocking, three forms of reading material including the former and current issues of the First Things Journal, five prescription medications, six non-traditional health boosters, toiletries, cell phone, and the daily Eucharist. We walked out of the hospital with three bags full of personal items and he his total stay was less than 24 hours.

I love this man. He is sensitive in every way, which leads to this type of finaticism about feeling "at home". It also leads to an ability to listen to his own heart and to the voice of God in a way that inspires me to worship and prayer, laughter and love.

Feeling full of IV fluids and what not, John had a burst of vitality. I drove him straight from the hospital to his office. He just had to check into things at work. After dinner and a short nap at home, we went to the concluding night of Redeemed Lives Wheaton.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.