crazy cold and i am off duty

well, well, well... i am free at last! i am sooo glad i do not have to think for the next 3 weeks! someone decided to allow us to have SEVEN finals. say bye-bye to your sanity. the practical tests really wear me out. you always feel like you are performing... which is pretty much the case. i have actually done better on my practical exams than the written ones, but they require a lot more energy! it is much easier to be tested by reading yourself the questions and answering them on your own time, or even skipping some and coming back if you so choose. i study a lot more simply because i do not want to look like an idiot in front of my teacher. also, if you violate the more than one safety rule you fail! i understand that it has to be that way, but it does stir up some tension. enough said about school!

it is snowing like crazy here! only 24 degrees and frigid. i love the snow! my goals for this next week of relaxation include making a real snowman and taking a snow-flurried christmas picture. also, i would love to have a snowball fight and go sledding, but we might save those activities until the big snow comes to town- which we have been told comes after christmas. speaking of christmas, pittsburgh is forecasted to have a white one folks! how sweet! also, i would like to finish some christmas shopping, if i want to get out in the snow that is. i might just sit in my slippers and drink hot tea all day and stare out the window and watch the snow fall. sounds wonderful, right? feel free to join me. we will be here until the 21st.

jon and i have felt the need to settle into a church around here and get involved. we do not want to join anywhere... don't worry ollie pollie! we just miss being active in church. now that we have some free time, we started working with the shadyside pres youth group. it was a really fun night of sardines all over the church, a lovely mac n cheese dinner, and a service project/ bible study/ discussion time. i hope we have time to keep it up next semester. the kids were great, and i think we fit right in.

jon and i are trying to watch as many christmas movies as possible this year. so far it is not going so well. we have seen christmas vacation, the holiday and part of white christmas. and now i am off to watch the rest of white christmas! do not tell me how it ends. this is my first time to see it!

merry christmas friends!
e l i z a b e t h

happy birthday, love!

today is a great day. it is a great day because 23 years ago today elizabeth anne cooper wagner was born. what a blessing to this world! so today we celebrate your birth, elizabeth, with great rejoicing.

henri nouwen wrote, "birthdays need to be celebrated. i think it is more important to celebrate a birthday than a successful exam, a promotion, or a victory. because to celebrate a birthday means to say to someone: 'thank you for being you.' celebrating a birthday is exalting life and being glad for it. on a birthday we do not say: 'thanks for what you did, or said, or accomplished.' no, we say: 'thank you for being born and being among us.' ...celebrating a birthday reminds us of the goodness of life, and in this spirit we really need to celebrate people's birthdays every day, by showing gratitude, kindness, forgiveness, gentleness, and affection. these are ways of saying: 'it's good that you are alive; it's good that you are walking with me on this earth. let's be glad and rejoice. this is the day that god has made for us to be and to be together.'"

so in honor of elizabeth's 23 years on this earth, here are some pictures that i think really show what a blessing she is to us all:





















































one year older, one year wiser, one year more loved.

thank you, love, for being you and being here with us! you are truly adored, cherished, and loved!

love,
jw <><

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas!

the first big snow!!!! below are some pictures of us frolicking in it...


outside the window...


eating some snow... hey, was some of that yellow?


elizabeth with a snow face...




fun with an icicle.. please notice what a fabulous job the city of pittsburgh does cleaning the snow off the roads! i learned a few lessons about snow driving today - don't accelerate quickly, don't brake quickly, and don't drive quickly


a little snow angel action... good form, sweetie!


this snow angel was pure perfection... only a true southerner could make one this good!


shaking the snow off... elizabeth going nuts after making the angel...


a little snow on the face...




pittsburgh seminary chapel...

cheers,
jw <><

let it snow!!!

it is snowing!!! it has snowed here a few times the past few weeks, but this is the first snow that is sticking. we just thought we would share some pics and our excitement!


right outside our apartment in the courtyard.


trying to catch snow in my mouth, which is probably not the wisest thing to do. who knows what kind of nasty crap is in these flakes!


yay for snow! elizabeth eating some snow off my car... not really. if you notice, i have blurred out my plate. who knows what kind of shady folks out there might be looking at this! ha!


a little snow in the hair. one of the pesky things about snow that i have discovered is that it gets all over you and melts... not so appealing. another pesky thing is that it pokes you in the eyes when you are trying to walk. i have to walk around with my eyes closed now. elizabeth said earlier, "just close your eyes and open your mouth and discover a little treat!" what?

any way, these pictures don't really show how much snow there actually is (which wasn't actually all that much) but there is definitely a lot more now after it has been snowing all day. we are supposed to have a few more inches by tomorrow night... and that is just with "light snow showers." then, the mother load is supposed to hit wednesday! high tomorrow... 28! burrr.

bundle up out there,
jw <><