Turkey, Chocolate and Egg Rolls

Grandma Mac and the Sweitzer Girls

Thanksgiving was great this year! I could sum in up in many words, but the most efficient would be: turkey, chocolate and egg rolls.

#1 Turkey
My aunt and uncle generously invited 24 people to their home outside Harrisburg, PA for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

We sprawled across three tables... and like the miracle of loaves and fishes, we never ran out of food. ;-)

Jeremy and my third cousin, Dominic, age 4.

#2 Chocolate
The next morning (after sleeping off the soporific effects of turkey and mashed potatoes), various groupings of relatives went off on various adventures:

• Kyle spun off to help Uncle John purchase a new electric piano,
• Jeremy hermitted himself in our hotel room for a productive afternoon of studying, and
• The remaining Sweitzer/Powell/Mohrs went to Hershey Park and Chocolate World with our little cousin Christina.

#3 Egg Rolls
Chocolate World was followed by a stop in Hershey at an antique shop (its a family weakness), and then we hurried back to Harrisburg for our most favorite day-after-Thanksgiving tradition... EGG ROLLS.

This tradition was started by our late Grandpa Mac who, after eating a large Thanksgiving feast, sought to thank and reward the cooks with, well, a second feast. 

My grandparents served as missionaries in Asia for over 30 years. As their grandchild, I've experienced their history through stories, testimonies, pictures and food... in fact, my cousins, sisters and I can probably eat our weight in egg rolls and sticky rice.

This year, my cousin Nora (above) helped my Grandma Mac to wrap and fry 85+ egg rolls for our post-Thanksgiving Asian dinner. As you can see, we enjoyed it very much!

Another Baby Powell...

Our apartment is blooming with signs of our baby-to-be-born... stroller, car seat, baby bath tub, pack n' play, baby onsies, baby socks, baby blankets... it's a joy to be surrounded by these things!

But a year ago, at exactly this time, the scene was very different.

If you peered into our lives at that time, you would have seen Jeremy and I sitting on our couch, eyes red with tears, faces crumpled in pain over the loss of our first baby, miscarried at 10 weeks.

People who haven't experienced a miscarriage (and even some that have) like to point out that "it happens all the time." Miscarriages are normal. But they are not. Death is not normal. Death is not natural. It is not part of God's original design.

But praise be to God, He has conquered death and one day, we will see our little baby alive and well in heaven.


"Women received back their dead by resurrection." Hebrews 11:35

In 2 Kings 4, Elisha prophecies that a faithful, but barren Shunammite woman will give birth to a son. And, like so many barren women in the Bible, she does. But tragedy is lurking around the corner:

When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. And he said to his father, "Oh my head, my head!" The father said to his servant, "Carry him to his mother." And when he had lifted him and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, and then he died (v. 18-20).

How sad. How unfair. It makes us beg, WHY GOD? WHY? Jeremy and I certainly did in the weeks and months following our miscarriage.

But here is where the Shunammite woman becomes a hero of faith...

Without a moment's hesitation, she puts her little boy down, gets up, and goes to find Elisha. When she finds Elisha, Elisha unknowingly asks, "Is all well with the child?" and she says, "All is well." All is shalom. 

The Shunammite woman is openly in distress (v. 27), but her first words, her first disposition, is to say "All is well" and do you remember what happens next? It is actually very amazing... Elisha goes to the child and lies down on his little dead body.

Elisha puts his hands on the boy's hands, his arms on the boy's arms, his mouth on the boy's mouth.

Elisha touches the boy's unclean, dead body and transfers life to him.

"... the flesh of the child became warm... then, the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes."

A beautiful and profound picture of Christ, Elisha becomes unclean to make the little boy alive again. Because of Christ, death has no hold on believers.

Not only will each individual believer receive eternal life in heaven, but the things and especially people we once lost to death will be restored.

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

A Happy Little Camper

Today (Monday) was, well, definitely a Monday. But I won't dwell on it.

• My aging hybrid car had a minor meltdown, making me late for work... but as usual, it recovered. 
• Jeremy had an early morning exam in Hebrew... but its over now. 
• I had to stay late for an evening work meeting... but then, I came home to leftovers of my mom's delicious Italian tortellini soup and fresh bread. 

More importantly, I still feel very grateful and humbled by the exceedingly thoughtful baby shower my sisters and mom threw for me this past weekend. 

I don't have pictures at the shower to share (I was too busy opening gifts). Meredith will probably did post them on her blog. But I can show you some of the results! 

#1) Baby PhillyPowells' toy and bookshelf in our living room now has something on every shelf. 

PS: The awesome flowers and pine greenery you see on top were the centerpieces at the baby shower. My sisters and mom cleverly themed the whole shower: "A Happy Little Camper." 

#2) Baby PhillyPowell officially has his/her first bed... the beloved pack n' play, which I convinced Jeremy we at just had to test.

#3) Baby PhillyPowell has a whole wardrobe of new clothes to wear. 

#4) Plus, Baby PhillyPowell has an awesome infant swing for napping (thanks Grandma Mac and Auntie J) and a new stroller and car seat from a seriously mysterious someone who signed their card "Your Family in Christ." Wow. 

Jeremy and I are very touched by the generosity of our friends and family. Thank you. 

V'Forge

Our weekends are wonderful. This Saturday, I had brunch with a great college friend in Philly. Our conversation was deep and encouraging.

Then, I came home and Jeremy and I went for a sunny, but crisp walk in Valley Forge.

(I love this guy)

(29.5 weeks and still, not a huge belly)

(In various seasons, we've traversed this path on foot, on bikes, on cross-country skis, and once... we had to sprint down it to escape a torrential rain storm.)