Christmas Letter 2011

MERRY CHRISTMAS Family and Friends!!! Season's Greetings and Happiness to you all!



Thank you for stopping by our blog and checking up on our family!! Our lives have so dramatically changed over the past year, but God has been so good to us! I will try to give a very abbreviated update of 2011. :)

We are a busy family. Our heartbeat as a family is ministry. We are so blessed to be a part of a great church, Beach Fellowship, which is comprised of some of the best people EVER!! We are actively involved in many different things in our church community. Arthur is on the Men's Ministry Leadership team and helping create a Men's Accountability Model to implement at church in 2012. He also serves as a leader in the Proverbs Ministry, an outreach ministry to the local homeless in Virginia Beach. He preaches at those events and gets his hands dirty serving- usually cleaning toilets afterwards and transporting the homeless to and from the church. Arthur's also an Usher and spent most of the year as a Sunday School Teacher in the Toddler Classroom.

Jessica's also very involved in ministry. She also is a part of the Proverbs Ministry, often helping in the kitchen with food preparation. Jessica also started a ministry for Moms, called Encouraging Mothers. She joined the Women's Ministry Leadership Team and spends a lot of time counseling/discipling women within the church. Most of the year she was in choir singing in both services on Sundays.

As a couple, we teach Small Group Bible Study on Wednesdays. We also love opening our home up to people in need and spending time as a family serving others. We want to live to be a blessing to others. It's true: You find yourself when you give yourself away.

JANUARY: We welcomed the New Year with some dear friends! Then we had a belated 2010 Christmas celebration with Grammy and Grampy and Great Grandma, too, here in Virginia Beach!



FEBRUARY: Arthur and I snuck away for Valentine's Day... had our first babysitter watch Giana! It was fun and much-needed. And Giana was just fine in our absence.




MARCH: Arthur finished his Bachelors degree in Multidisciplinary Studies (Religion and Business concentration) at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. Jessica started Encouraging Mothers ministry and also joined the Women's Ministry Leadership team. Our family had a quick, brief love affair with sushi until Arthur got salmonella poisoning and was sick for 8 days straight!! Live and learn.



APRIL: Arthur and I both were afforded the blessing to attend a spiritual retreat in Wakefield, VA called The Walk to Emmaus. It was an amazing time with the Lord and we met friends who will prayerfully be a part of our lives forever! Giana got to check-out Hunt Club Farm and enjoy petting all the animals and playing. While there, my good friend Wendy did some photography practice on Giana and blessed us with some gorgeous Easter photos!


MAY: Giana turned 2! We celebrated at Red Wing Park with a cupcake-themed party and lots of friends. Grammy and Grampy came and enjoyed the celebration, but had the chance to take a hiatus for a few days down to Florida to celebrate their 32nd Wedding Anniversary!



JUNE: The beginning of June was inundated with preparations for our church's Women's Conference. Jessica organized, got donations, purchased and assembled 120 gift bags for the attendees. The conference theme was "Strength & Beauty" and the women of our church were very richly blessed and fed by guest speaker Pastor Dana Cavallaro.

We also entertained guests, Arthur's brother's family: Adam, Bianca and our dear niece, Allison! We had a fun long weekend with them and went to a local carnival together. Giana rode her first amusement ride!



In June we started our own Small Group Bible Study on Wednesday nights. The group started small (2 people) but has grown to between 14-20 adults! Though our condo isn't very spacious we are so blessed to fellowship and teach our fellow Brothers and Sisters in the Lord on Wednesday evenings.

Lastly, we went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg with some friends and saw one of our favorite Christian singers in concert, Casting Crowns & Matt Maher! It was an awesome time of worship.

JULY: More visitors! Everyone always waits until summer to come to Virginia Beach... wonder why?! :) Jessica's cousin Emily, her husband Mike and their son, Andrew. It was our first time meeting Andrew (already 1!). We enjoyed the Aquarium together and chatting late into the night.

4th of July was a fun day with friends in Sandbridge, a rural beach area in Virginia Beach. The night ended with terrible thunderstorms so there were no fireworks, but we made the best of it, anyway!



AUGUST: Arthur took 2 weeks of leave and we headed to our hometowns in Upstate New York. Giana spent a lot of time with her grandparents and got to check out the local carnival, The Spencer Picnic, that Arthur and I enjoyed as children. She paddleboated with Opi, took long country walks through the woods with Omi. She played for hours with Grampy and baked cupcakes with Grammy. She had a BLAST! And so did we! During our time home we even got in a mini getaway to the Seneca Wine Trail & Belhurst Castle to celebrate 9 years of marriage.



Upon returning home, Arthur started graduate school at Regent University for his Masters of Divinity! Tuesday nights he had classes on campus, and the rest of his course load was online. Seminary is very demanding, but he has done fabulously!

SEPTEMBER: Jessica took a step back from Choir ministry at church to make more time for other ministry time. As a family, we visited Georgia at the end of the month for Arthur to pin his brother Sergeant in the Army. It was a great time together with family and a joyous time for Arthur to promote his younger brother. We also celebrated Arthur's 28th Birthday while in Georgia!



OCTOBER: The month began with a Ladies' Trip to Washington, D.C. to celebrate Jessica's 29th Birthday. The highlight: Ikea! In the middle of the month, a friend from church hostessed our Encouraging Mother's group and allowed the children and Mom's the opportunity to horseback ride! Giana instantly fell in love and is an aspiring equestrian at the ripe age of 2. She even gave the horse commands!



Giana moved into her "big girl room" and just won't stop growing up!! :)

Perhaps the biggest change in our family happened on October 14th. Arthur got out of the Army! The Lord had put a call on Arthur life in 2007 to become a military Chaplain, and the only way to become a Chaplain is to have a Masters degree in Divinity. So, in order to meet application standards regarding time in service and the other requirements, such as being an ordained Pastor and having 2 years of ministry experience, we were led to take a leap of faith and leave the Army (for now). While it was a bittersweet transition, it was also a peaceful one knowing we are on the path God has revealed to our family. Although Jessica still hadn't acquired employment, we had to truly trust in God's promises that HE would make a way and provide for our family.

NOVEMBER: Jessica attended many job interviews to no avail. But, God showed up and showed off. HE provided in every way imaginable. We had more provision without jobs then we ever had in 10 years of steady employment. There is no explanation other than GOD IS GOOD!!

Arthur's parents celebrated 30 years of marriage. We are so, so fortunate to BOTH have parents that are married and committed to one another after so many years. <3

Thanksgiving was great with a short and sweet visit from Grammy and Grampy. We spent the holiday together with more family a little further north from Virginia Beach, Aunt Bernadette and Uncle Bobby! The food was great. The laughter was better. We always enjoy our time with them and it was just one more thing to be thankful for!



DECEMBER: Our family has lots planned this month, both for fun and for Community Service. We love serving others! Jessica is organizing and hostessing the Women's Ministry Cookie Exchange at church again this year. We are hoping to enjoy lots of free, local events for the season. But really, it's the quiet moments that mean the most this time of year. The moments of remembering God's goodness and the Gift He blessed us with- Jesus Christ! The real reason for the season!



We pray each of you has a happy, blessed, beautiful Christmas and an even more abundant New Year!! We love each of you dearly! XOXO

Mountain Dew Cake with Mountain Dew Glaze

I've been in a super creative mood these days, and decided to expand that creativity to my kitchen. I love to cook but generally loathe baking. But, nevertheless, I wanted to make a cake for a special teenage girl Anita who was turning 18. I was inspired by some Pinterest pins of "Mountain Dew Cake." Well, Anita loves Mountain Dew. And she and my husband Arthur always "bicker" over the beverage. So I decided that was what I'd make.

I scoured the internet for recipes and found things that seemed boring and bland and some very complicated recipes trying to duplicate the "Mountain Dew" taste. I decided to adapt a recipe and here's what I came up with:

MOUNTAIN DEW BUNDT CAKE WITH MOUNTAIN DEW GLAZE
Cake Ingredients:
1 box Lemon Cake Mix
1 box Instant Vanilla Pudding
4 eggs
¾ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup orange juice concentrate
1-1/4 cup Mountain Dew Soda

Glaze Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbls Orange Juice Concentrate
1 Tbls Mountain Dew
3 drops green food coloring (optional)
2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Mix together cake ingredients in a stand mixer. Grease and flour bundt pan. Pour batter into bundt pan. Bake 38-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool.
Make glaze: Add liquid to the powdered sugar and whisk. You may have to adjust the liquid/sugar to make sure the glaze is thick enough to stick to the cake but thin enough to "drip" down the sides. Add food coloring if desired.



Eat! It has a nice citrus-y flavor. Definitely reminiscent of Mountain Dew, though not an exact replication. Hope you enjoy!

Vegetarian Love

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked "What do you eat?" in regards to my vegetarian lifestyle, well I'd have at least enough for a nice new Coach bag!

Being vegetarian is not as complicated as you may think. And now, there's so many great "Substitute" meats available. [[side bar: the BEST is Soyrizo from Trader Joes!]]

So, I'm sharing what we had for dinner the other night... Rotini with Fresh Tomatoes and Cauliflower. This dish is simple, quick and delish! My carnivorous husband very much enjoyed this. :)

Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes and Cauliflower

Ingredients
1- 12 oz. box of Tricolor Rotini (I like Barilla)
1 small head of cauliflower, florets cut and well rinsed
2-4 tomatoes (depends on size), finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Black pepper to taste
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated
Handfull of fresh basil leaves, chopped

Directions
Put on a pot of water to boil. Meanwhile, cut cauliflower head into florets and set aside. Get out your serving bowl (everyone should have a huge pasta serving bowl). Dice tomatoes up and toss into serving bowl. Chop of your basil while you're at it and also add to the serving bowl. By this time, your water should be boiling. Dump in your pasta and set a timer for 3 minutes. While waiting for 3 minutes to pass, mince garlic. Sprinkle the salt over the garlic and mash to create a paste-like consistency. Add the garlic/salt mix to the tomatoes. By now, your timer is frantically beeping. Toss in the cauliflower with the pasta and continue to boil another 4 minutes (pasta will be al dente and the cauliflower soft). Drain pasta and cauliflower. Toss with tomatoes, garlic and basil in serving bowl. Dump in olive oil and continue to mix. Top with Parmesan cheese and black pepper if you'd like. Voila! Easy peasy. And seriously delish. We used extra cheese when we ate it and some crushed red pepper for a punch. My hubby, me and little Miss finished this in one sitting.

Mangia!

Blogging Attempt #592

It's awesome to see other people's blogs- resourceful, informative, clever. And I always think I need to do that... but I don't.

So, I'm going to resolute to blog about my life and my ideas. We're a busy family and we do many things. I shouldn't be stingy with my creativity, right? Maybe I'll get "pinned" on Pinterest! :)

So, stay tuned. Hopefully I'll post more than a family Christmas letter!

2010 Family Christmas Letter

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Jesus IS the reason for the season... It's that time of the year again to update you- our family and friends- about the happenings of the past year!

2010 has come and gone in a flash! It's unbelievable how quickly time has gone. But, here are some highlights of our past year:

Since graduating last December, I've been on the job hunt. I commiserate with countless other Americans having difficulty finding good employment with benefits. Even with my Masters degree, I've yet to secure employment. But, I know God is in control and He will open the doors when necessary. As a good friend once told me, you don't need a ticket until you get on the train! Besides, I get to be a full-time Mom in the meantime, which is the best job a woman could ask for!!

In March, my best friend Camille married her long-time boyfriend Brandon Slatter. It was an honor to be a part of their special, beautiful day! The big story of the day was that I left the rings in the car!! Thankfully, the photographer delivered the message to Arthur mid-ceremony and he was able to retrieve them quite discreetly before the rings were exchanged. Literally, saved by moments!!




In May we made a trip to New York to celebrate Giana's 1st Birthday with all her extended family. She had a lovely Princess Party and was adorned with all sorts of goodies from family & friends. She had a blast and we had fun spoiling her, too.




The summer was full of lots of trips to the pool and the beach along with fires in the fire pit with friends and grilling. Giana is a natural-born water baby. She loves swimming and soaking up the sun and I think its safe to say she loves being outdoors.

Travel was the theme of the Fall. Arthur's brother Adam has been stationed in Germany for four years and finally returned stateside with his lovely wife and daughter. We were able to visit them at their new home outside Savannah, GA for about a week and celebrate our niece's 2nd birthday! Then after recovering for a week, we flew out to the St. Louis area to spend Thanskgiving with my brother, who is in the Air Force and on orders to go to Korea in the Spring of 2011. He had never met Giana, so it was a nice time. My parents also joined us for the holiday and it was the first time the "Maffia" family was together since 2007.




Throughout the year we've been renovating and updating our late 1970s condo in Virginia Beach. We've replaced the windows and roof and are working on the interior. We freshened up the kitchen and dining area and now we're working on renovating all three bathrooms. It's a lot of work, but we really enjoy making this house a home.

The joy Giana brings has only increased since last Christmas. She's already 19 months old, and well on the journey of toddlerhood. She is very independent and smart and keeps us on our toes! She loves reading, Elmo, dogs and dolls. She is a girly girl and a tough cookie, all at once. She prays before each meal, folding her little hands, which always melts our hearts. We know the Lord has big plans for her BIG personality. And we pray for wisdom daily to direct her strong-willed spirit in a positive way. She is growing so fast, and it's a joy to see her blossom. She is such a little light in our lives!




But, what gives our life meaning and purpose and real, true Light is ministry. Arthur and I love using our talents to serve the Lord in our local body, Beach Fellowship. I've been helping with the Women's Ministry team at Beach Fellowship and am hostessing a Cookie Exchange for the Christmas season. I'm also in the process of birthing a Women's Counseling Team Ministry in collaboration with the pastoral team and a few other women with counseling expertise. I've also been in the Choir since early Spring and have enjoyed the worship ministry and friendships that have birthed from that arena. Arthur is busy serving in the homeless ministry. He picks up the displaced some Sunday mornings to bring them to church for breakfast and the service. He also serves once a month in the day-long outreach for the homeless in our area. Additionally, he disciples some young Christian men, whom we've grown to love and who love some home cookin'. :o) We are excited to see where the Lord leads us in the coming year, as we both have desires and ideas of collaborating our interests and serving together.

Arthur is still finishing his Bachelor's degree but will definitely graduate in May 2011! We are overjoyed that he's able to finish. Arthur's planning to get out of the Army in October 2011 to pursue his Masters of Divinity degree at Regent University, specializing in the Military Chaplaincy track. He hopes after he finished his degree he can re-enter the military as a Chaplain. We both know this is God's will for his life and are praying for the Lord's provision each step of the way.

We pray the Lord draws you closer to Him in 2011. We are so grateful for each and every one of you and love you dearly!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love, Arthur, Jessica & Giana

Joys of Parenthood Update

Giana's toddler stage is full of the average range of toddler emotions: silly or very, very grumpy. The screaming is the highest pitched noise I've ever heard! But watching her grow, learn and develop has been so exciting.

Here's a funny addition. JOP #5: Giana's taking an interest in potty training. Most of the time, though she lets me know if she needs a clean diaper. Yesterday morning after breakfast, she was running around the house without her PJ pants on. Next thing I knew, she walked into the kitchen with a pee-pee diaper on her head, like a hat! I laughed so hard, then immediately went into sanitary mode. I hadn't planned to bathe her that morning, but we did anyway! The impressive thing was she slipped her diaper off in one piece, just like a pair of underpants, to put them on her head. My only regret was not taking a picture to last forever... :o)

Reflections of the Heart

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

I purport this to be the most abused Scripture in this day and age. Christ-followers living in the world of "tolerance" and "do what you want" have used this single verse in the Bible to justify their worldly actions...

While our possessions or appearance cannot be used to judge what's on the heart, I submit that our ACTIONS can be! 1 Samuel 16:7 is talking about a man's stature- his appearance. Yet, the rest of the Bible tells us that what is seen on the outside should be a reflection of what is on the inside. Every outward expression of a believer— whether it is their dress, their manner of speech, or their actions —should reflect the reality of Christ in the heart. So the question is: "Are the actions I make a reflection of Christ?"

Now, that's a HUGE question if you really ponder it. Yeah, I know the argument already that we're fallen and prone to sin. But, what's the POINT of Christianity? It's to conform more and more to the image of Christ. It's metamorphosis from being of the world to being in the Kingdom. Therefore, our heart should become more Christ-like and our actions should be LESS worldly.

I may ruffle some feathers with this, but the sad truth is that people use their "heart" as an excuse to do some pretty worldly things. Example: "I can do _____ if God knows my heart. God only cares about the heart, not the action."

***NEWSFLASH**** Our actions should be the OVERFLOW of the heart. So, if you are choosing sinful/worldly actions because it's only "the heart that matters" than I say that's an even more blatant slap in God's face! Shame on you (and me- I'm not perfect!).

Galatians 5: 22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

If we are truly spirit-filled people, than our actions should reflect the Spirit!! And isn't God awesome? He tells us what the Spirit does- what actions the Spirit chooses... Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

II Tim. 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

We need to become SELF-DISIPLINED in living our outward lives (a.k.a. choosing our actions) to be a reflection of CHRIST and not the world. How else are the unbelievers going to really see or believe that we're any different from them? It's not about religion. It's not about "laws" or "do not's." It's about a real relationship with Jesus Christ- GOD IN ME- through the Holy Spirit. Let's be people who reflect THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH!!