Something Silly

Sometimes, we just need to laugh... at ourselves, at our culture, at some of the silly things that have somehow become "normal."  Here in New Hampshire, it's normal to have large, state-run liquor outlet stores interspersed along the highway.  It's normal to not legally have to wear a seat belt, and to not pay state sales tax.  In the "Live Free or Die" state, we've noticed that speeding is common; laws regulating behavior that are common in other states we have lived are not present here.  Some of this lack of regulation is nice; refreshing, even... and some of it still feels strange.  Here are two You Tube links that we've been laughing along with, lately:

and

So, if you needed a break from a bit of the cold spring weather we've been having lately, we hope this will give you a laugh - and, maybe, teach you something about this new state we have become a part of! 

Lenten Blessings,

The Daysa's

It's Beginning to Look More Like... SPRING!

Jen and I, standing in the bell tower

This week in New Hampshire - and today in particular - warmer weather has been blessing us with mild temps in the 50's, and lots of sunshine.  While Jen doesn't want to acknowledge that it's getting warmer out (until after the church ski retreat she is leading this weekend!), we have both noticed the receding piles of snow around our apartment building.  As excited as I was for a blizzard the day after Christmas, I must admit that I am thrilled by the prospect of our first New Hampshire spring.  In honor of St. Patrick's Day, today is the perfect day to celebrate the freshly-visible green outside!

Enjoying the sunshine at Rye Beach in NH

March has already brought us one house-guest: a good friend from Seminary who drove up for 5 days over part of her Reading Week break from classes.  It was a great excuse to do a little more exploring of the area; we went up in the church's bell tower (the tallest point in Exeter - see photo!) for a great view, and headed into Portsmouth for "Happy Hour" at a great restaurant called the Gas Light Co.  We also visited Rye Beach together (see photo!).  We're also looking forward to another seminary friend and her girlfriend coming up to stay with us next weekend.  It seems that as the weather thaws, people are already beginning to get out and about - we've even met one of our new neighbors!

One Saturday earlier this month, we had a family from church over for a make-your-own-pizza night; it's one of those things we've been wanting to do for awhile, and saying we would do, and finally decided that it needed to happen.  They were the first family to have us over for dinner when we first arrived in New Hampshire, and we were eager to have them over, too.  Jen and I both had a great time preparing pizza dough and toppings ahead of time, and enjoyed great conversation over dinner and baking cookies with some of our fellow New Hampshire-ites.

Jonah seems to be enjoying spring, too; he loves going for longer walks, and then leaving muddy paw prints all over our foyer and kitchen!  We took him to the shore for the first time last weekend, and had a ton of fun.  It was beautiful out, and mild enough to enjoy the salty breeze coming off of the water.

As we continue on the Lenten journey toward Easter, may each new discovery of spring and new life remind us of the promise of the Resurrection.

Sending you sunshine and warm thoughts,
The Daysa's

Winter Days

The days have been moving along rather quickly at the Daysa household - somehow our last post was in December, and both Jen and I are wondering how it is already the end of February!  So much for staying up-to-date on our posts, huh?  The past few months seem to be filled with snow, doggy fun, good food, and Jen settling into her job a little more.

We have been inundated with snow during our first New England winter - from the day after Christmas until the end of January, we had storm after storm after storm, and accumulated piles of snow that still have not melted. We discovered that our new dog, Jonah, absolutely loves to jump and run and play in the snow.  Much to our surprise, even when the snow is over his head, he "swims" his way through drifts and snow banks and comes home blessedly tired.

In the middle of January, Jen and I went on a one-day spiritual retreat with the Congregational Church in Exeter.  We traveled to a nearby Methodist retreat center in North Andover, Massachusetts, leaving Jonah behind at a kennel for his first time.  There were 28 people in attendance at the retreat, and it was a joy to connect with some of the congregation a little bit more than after-church coffee hour allows for.  Slowly, New Hampshire is beginning to feel less lonely.

We enrolled Jonah in an obedience training class at the SPCA where we adopted him.  The class is appropriately called, "Oh Behave!" and Jonah has picked up on most of the basic commands.  He now has mastered: come, sit, down, shake hands, watch, stay, and roll over.  We're still working on "off," "leave it," and "heel," but we're excited with the progress that our energetic pooch has made toward becoming a more well-behaved canine companion.

Jen has been working up a storm, and has now preached on two separate occasions at the Congregational Church in Exeter (and delivered countless children's sermons).  She seems to be enjoying being able to focus on the youth program, now that the holiday festivities - and all of their extra projects - have come and gone.

I am still looking for a job; some days I am more hopeful; other days I am very, very frustrated.  I have told several people that I feel like Moses, wandering in the desert - able to see the promised land (employment), but not sure if or when I'll get to enter it!  But, I have to trust that when the time and the opportunity are right, it will work out.  So, what do I do with my days, you ask?  Well, I've been applying to as many jobs as I can, babysitting whenever the opportunity arises, taking care of the apartment chores, and walking around Newmarket with Jonah.

Our winter days have also been filled with food!  Jen and I are having a wonderful time trying out new recipes, and enjoying our very own kitchen.  Our favorites of late are: an avocado and goat cheese crostini appetizer, a broiled coconut fish entree, and lots of fresh juice concoctions courtesy of the reduced price produce stand at our local grocery!  In the next few weeks we are trying out dinner recipes under 500 calories... we'll try to update you soon with feedback and our favorites!

In other news, the Daysa's are proud and excited to offer our congratulations to Jen's sister, Catherine, on her engagement to Chris Sherman on the day before Valentine's Day.  We look forward to celebrating with them at their wedding over Labor Day Weekend in Seattle.

As we look forward to the onset of March and the beginning of the Lenten season, we pray that the coming of spring will bring new growth not only to the world around you, but also to your walk with God.  Please stay in touch!

The Daysa's

A Dog for the Daysa Family!

We would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family: Jonah Daysa!  (See photos using the link on the left). We adopted Jonah from the New Hampshire SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals); it's the local version of the Humane Society.  Their web site says they rescue about 4,000 animals each year: from dogs and cats, to horses and pigs and goats, etc.

When we visited, we found a very clean and seemingly well-staffed, friendly facility...and very full!  As we walked around the dog area, there were several dogs that had been there for over two months, or were "under-socialized" (fearful and cowering in their cage), as well as hyper dogs who were eager to lick our fingers and wiggled for attention.  One of the very last dogs we saw as we walked around was Jonah.  He was in a very small cage, stacked above another cage, and seemed like he had just gotten up from a nap.  He seemed a little timid, but he was the perfect size (our landlord will only allow us to have dogs under 20 pounds).  After talking with the staff and reading over Jonah's profile and another dog's profile, we decided to take Jonah out for a walk and see how the three of us got along...

The rest is history!  This little guy bounded into our lives.  In a surprisingly short time (under two hours), we walked out of the SPCA with a new family member.  It's been so much fun getting to know his personality: we've found he has incredible stores of energy - quite the opposite of the sleepy little guy we saw at the humane society!  His favorite thing to do is play, and his favorite toys seem to be tennis balls or squeaky cloth toys.  He can play fetch for hours, and this is pretty much the only successful way we have found to keep him from chewing our Christmas tree, or the pretty packages under it (he loves to chew paper).  Although the SPCA said he was 2 1/2 years old, we'll see what our new veterinarian has to say when we visit this next week; Jonah certainly acts like a very young dog with all of his chewing.

As we draw nearer Christmas this week, Jen and I are thrilled to have Jonah in our lives.  We look forward to introducing him to friends and family, whenever that may be.  Until then, we all wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Nativities, Pageants, and Joy

Dressed as baseball players, super heros, and ballerinas, 40 or so giggling, wiggling children gathered at my feet my first Sunday, Halloween, at the Congregational Church in Exeter, UCC. Little did I know then how prophetic these costumed children would be of my first two months in Exeter. The next week as I read through the church newsletter, I discovered that this church puts on a live nativity at the beginning of December and a pageant/worship service on Christmas Eve. When I asked who was in charge of such things, I received the simple answer: "well, you, of course." Of course, I thought. The shy girl, who avoided pageants, plays and dramas like the plague as a child, will now organize and direct them.

As I made cold calls to families I had not met, asking for angels, shepherds, and kings, I could not help thinking, this must be what they meant in the job description when they wrote: "and other tasks as assigned." Yet when all crises had been averted: a lost baby Jesus found, a biting donkey given more space, and cold children filled with hot chocolate, I looked at the proud, happy face of our teenage Mary and listened to the squeals of town children dragging their parents to pet the nativity sheep and goats, and thought this was a success. When the donkey was loaded in the truck, the hay bales and stable removed, and baby Jesus stored carefully where we would not lose him again, I walked through the big, red doors of the church we now call home, accepted a generous bowl of chili from a woman in the kitchen, and sat to listen to Julie and the bell choir play their last Christmas set. I smiled as I took in the festive spirit and said a little prayer of thanks for our quirky, new church community.

Afterward, Julie I walked around this little, Norman Rockwell town of Exeter, NH, taking in the freshly lit Christmas decorations, watching children wrapped in lines around the bandstand to see Santa, and waving to the families piling into town hall to see the brightly decorated trees. Julie's mittened hand grabbed hold of my arm, we looked at each other, and big smiles crossed both of our face. That night we returned to our apartment where our own little tree, filling half our living room, stood lit and emanating Christmas cheer. We made some tea, turned our TV to the crackling, glowing yule log channel provided by Comcast this time of year, and sat snuggled on our new couch, recounting the evening's events.

With the next big project on the horizon, the Christmas pageant, I can feel my stress levels rising, as I am sure my patient wife can as well. I keep trying to remind myself, however, that come Christmas Eve when the costumes and props are all put away, I will feel much the same as I did that early December night following the live nativity: filled with a deep, peaceful awareness of the joy, the hope, the light, and the love Christ brings into this season. I will sit snuggled up with the love of my life next to our Christmas tree in our new, little place, so grateful for the ways God has blessed me beyond my wildest imagination, and prayerful for those who do not feel so blessed this Christmas season, but who are held in God's love nonetheless.

"...in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it." - John 1:4-5 (The last line of this year's pageant)

Once Upon a December

Happy December 2010!  The year has flown by, and as Jen and I prepare to order and mail our Christmas cards, we decided it was time to update our blog.  We've been in New Hampshire for a little over a month now, and I think it is safe to say that we are pretty settled in and beginning to learn our way around the area!  The only thing left, now, is to find me a job... ;-)  As we enter the world of blogging, we thought it would be appropriate to begin with our beginnings:

In early October, Jen was offered a job working as the new Director of Youth Ministries at the Congregational Church in Exeter, New Hampshire.  The town is well known for it's prep school, the historic Philips-Exeter Academy.  The church is also historic, having been founded in the same year that the town of Exeter was established: 1638, by Rev. John Wheelwright (the brother-in-law of Anne Hutchinson).

On October 19, 2010, Jen and I set off on our second cross-country road trip of the summer (the first was after we graduated from Princeton in May 2010).  We drove from Seattle, WA to Newmarket, NH in five days, plus two days of visiting with my family in Michigan.  On October 25, 2010, we moved into our first apartment!

Our apartment is beginning to feel pretty "homey" - it is as furnished as it is going to be for awhile, complete with dining set, bedroom set, and sofa/tv in the living area!  We are so excited to have our first place - it may be tiny, but we can't wait to welcome friends and family, have dinner parties, and enjoy life as newlyweds!  We've posted some photos in the links to the left where you can see our apartment.  

We live in Newmarket, which is a small town of about 7 or 8 thousand residents, about 7.5 miles north of Exeter, where Jen works (so, about a 15-minute commute).  There is a small downtown that is an easy ten minute walk from our apartment, and has a couple of coffee shops, a post office, and some cute stores and eateries.  We haven't spent much time exploring Newmarket, but we look forward to getting to know our new hometown!

We had an absolutely lovely Thanksgiving - our first time hosting! - with Jen's Grandpa, Pete, and Jen's sister, Catherine.  G-pa Pete flew from Sacramento, CA to spend a week with us, and Catherine flew from Washington, D.C. from her internship location to spend 4 days.  We visited Boston, Portsmouth,Exeter (of course!), and Maine for some incredible lobster.  With the help of Catherine and G-pa Pete, we picked out and brought home our first Christmas tree - a 7.5-foot-tall, amazingly aromatic tree!

As we get ready for the holiday season, I am so thankful for the many blessings that this year has brought - for our marriage, our first place, a new job for Jen, and a new church community.  What a special and exciting time this has been!  We are both looking forward to the future, and we're excited to share the journey with you through this blog.