More Christmas Fun!

It's Christmas vacation, which means I get to do random things that waste time without feeling guilty :) Someone emailed me this and I thought it was fun, so I decided to fill it out...here you have it, the ultimate Christmas survey--and I know some of you are also obsessed with Christmas, so feel free to fill it out for yourself!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Egg Nog!
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa doesn't really come anymore :( But mom and dad leave the gifts under the tree :)
3. Colored or white lights on tree/house? I have no lights on my apartment, we have white on both the house and tree I think at mom and dad's--but we always do one random bush in red...megan and dad call it their burning bush....not sure when or how that tradition started...but it looks cool in the white snow!
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope although that could be fun ;)
5. When do you put your decorations up? I don't, mom does :)
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? this new, amazing sweet potato recipe that has become traditional in the last two years for us :)
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? helping deliver gifts to needy Sacramento families with Christmas Promise every year, Dad would dress up as Santa and we'd be out super late delivering Christmas to a bunch of families. It's the thing I miss most about not living in Sacramento now....
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I found the receipt for one of the gifts Santa gave us sitting on mom's dresser when I was about 11
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We have no gift-opening traditions, sometimes we open them all Christmas eve, sometimes all on Christmas day...
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? umm...carefully? Lights, ornaments, the usual
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it !
1 2. Can you ice skate? Yes, stopping is another story but I CAN stand up on ice skates
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? in 4th grade we got our puppy, which was a huge surprise, I also remember the year I got a TON of Baby-Sitter's Club books which I was pretty stoked about, I think I was 9 or something...
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? hanging out with the family or church on Christmas Eve (which is again a little strange now that we go visit mom and dad's church in MN where we don't know anyone...)
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? pumpkin pie
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Used to be the cousins all gathering at our Sacramento house on the 26th, that doesn't happen anymore...
17. What tops your tree? An angel I think...
18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving if it doesn't require a LOT of shopping :)
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? The Little Drummer Boy (has been since I was 3...) 20. What is your favorite holiday candy? hmm...maybe fudge if the piece is really small, otherwise, i like these peanut butter/cornflake creations my mom makes (which sounds awful but truly are amazing!)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

Thankfulness from A to Z

I started this tradition last year, and all my friends thought it was such a great idea they started coming up with their own lists, and they were WAY more on top of it this year than I was! Thanksgiving was 2 weeks ago, but this list has slowly been getting compiled...and is finally completed :) So here you go, things Sarah is thankful for in 2007:

A: Airplanes
I generally manage to log quite a few frequent flier miles each year, and 2007 was no exception. I was able to travel to Houston twice, Seattle, Maui, Sacramento, Minneapolis a couple of times, Rhode Island, and Colorado this year spending time with people from all different parts of my life whom I dearly love!

B: Bakery
This one is cheating a little, but one of my favorite cafes/bakeries is Panera Bread, which finally migrated far enough west to end up in Pasadena! I am very excited to have a new place to study, besides, nothing beats their amazing chocolate croissants!

C: Calling

About a year ago, I was just beginning to warm up to the idea of being a pastor, it took awhile, I kind of feel like I was kicking and screaming about it for awhile :). This past year I was able to serve as the intern at First Pres Burbank, a wonderful community of people who loved me and encouraged me from the moment I walked in their doors. The opportunities I had to teach people of all ages, preach, visit those in the hospital, help with funerals, and love their children confirmed in me more than anything else how much I absolutely love being a pastor. It is still a somewhat terrifying call, but I am so thankful I have people in my life who wouldn't let me walk away from where God was leading.

D: Dad

It's been an up and down year for my dad, and 2008 will bring more changes, but without going into any details, I'm just thankful for my dad, for who he is, how he has handled tough stuff lately, and how much he loves his family. E--Extended Family
As I get older I realize how incredibly blessed I am to have the world's most amazing extended family. I have numerous friends who hardly know their cousins or aunts or uncles, and I had the opportunity to literally grow up with mine. And, thanks to email and facebook, I am still in touch with almost all of them. I realize as we are getting older and as several of my cousins have married and are having families of their own that our time together is now mostly reduced to family weddings as its harder and harder to get everyone together at holidays...and seeing as how there are no Hanson weddings on the horizon at this point we're not sure exactly when that might happen again, but I love that when it does, while we may be a bit past the sleeping bag slip n slides down the stairs, or creating the elaborate puppet shows for our parents to watch, we still love being together.

F: Fellowship
I had the opportunity this past year to be part of several different small groups, leadership teams, and Bible studies, and each provided me with wonderful chances to learn more about myself, others, and the Creator we serve. Here are a few photos of various groups I’ve had the chance to be part of.

My small group last year: Lisa, Rebecca, Christina, Jenn and I

Presby Student Advisory Board 2006-2007 (I am part of the team again this year but we don't have any group photos yet!)Company of New Pastors

G: Graduates!
Sophie and Becca graduated this past June, and it was a wonderful time of celebrating them and being encouraged that the end really is in sight! Only another year and a 1/2 and I too will get to wear a very cool cap, gown and hood!

H: Hugs!

I happen to adore hugs, and I am thankful I have so many others in my life who do as well!

I: Introverted Time

I know this sounds bizarre, but I love time alone, and I have been so thankful to once again have my own apartment this year to be able to come home and enjoy quiet moments.

J: Jodi Picoult and JK Rowling
My two favorite fiction authors who both came out with amazing books this year that kept me just distracted enough from theology that I could stay sane :) I also got to introduce Sophie to the art of reading fiction just for fun and am happy to say she is now fully addicted to Jodi Picoult novels and always carries a book with her when she leaves the house…I couldn’t be more proud!

K: Kids

Kids have always played a huge role in my life, and this past year was no exception. Thanks to a random connection through a Cursillo couple in Houston, I spent most of the year babysitting for a wonderful family here in Pasadena every week, and when that job ended this fall, I took on helping with the preschool/elementary school mid-week group at Burbank, giving me the chance to laugh, play, and have wonderful (and often strange) conversations with kids of all ages. (My favorite was when two fourth grade girls came to me both liking the same boy…talk about drama!) I also had the joy of watching from afar as Jean’s little one, Elizabeth, grew through her first year, and will be heading to Anchorage next week to spend a week with the two of them.

Some of the Burbank kidsElizabeth a few months agoL: Lattes--preferably with a little vanilla syrup!

I have found that these have become even more helpful...ane necessary...in year number 3 (hey, sometimes it's about the little things in life!)

M: Music

Ok so I have no musical talent or ability, but music manages to bring so much joy--whether a great new country song on the radio, a beautiful old hymn remade by the group Indelible Grace (my new favorite find of the year), or breaking out the Christmas music I am so thankful for the ability to experience so many different types throughout the year!

N: New Relationships

So I already had a "C" that I was going to use :) This fall I started dating a wonderful guy, who has been such a gift in my life! Chuck is a first year student here at Fuller, who always manages to make me laugh, asks great questions, challenges me, and definitely has been the highlight of my fall!O: Ocean

I know I don’t make it to the beach that often around here, but I was able to get there a couple times this summer, and there is just something about watching and hearing the waves that manages to put life back in perspective again. Besides, nothing beats seeing the sunset over the water.

P: Preaching

My favorite experience this year was getting the chance to preach my first few sermons in front of my congregation here at Burbank. It was an incredible, terrifying experience that confrimed more than anything else how much I want to be able to be a pastor someday even though it is still a very overwhelming call!

My best friend from high school flew down for the weekend when I preached in JulyMy cheering section for my 2nd sermon back in April--Pocket, Kelli, Alethia, Ryan, Sophie and DaveMy wonderful pastor, Ross, after my first sermon--yeah, my family is a little obsessed with taking pictures.

Q: Quilts
It’s really not cold enough here to fully appreciate how wonderful a cozy, hand made quilt is, but one of my favorite things about heading back to Minnesota during the winter is getting to curl up under one of Grandma Hildie’s handmade quilts.

R--Renewal
Most of you know that I am fairly addicted to Cursillo, a renewal weekend that has its roots in the Catholic church and has been adapted by many different Protestant denominations. Houston Presbyterian Cursillo's community has been a huge part of my life the last two years and has been the most amazing gift God has given me since I began here at Fuller. When we attended this weekend as participants in April of 06 we had no idea that our lives would be drastically changed, not because of the weekend itself but because of the community of adults and parental-figures and friends that walked into our lives then and have faithfully continued to walk with us. We now have a group of people in Houston who are only an email or a phone call away and have prayed and encouraged us through many ups and downs of the past two years. We love them deeply and know that this journey through seminary would be drastically different without their faithful presence in our lives.

Some wonderful women we have been able to get to knowThe team I got to serve with in AprilSophie and I with our good friend Sam who has been such an incredible gift to us with his love, support and friendship--and to so many others as he shares his unbelievable musical talent with the whole Cursillo community.
S: Sojourners

My new favorite organization, founded by Jim Wallis, author of God's Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get it, a wonderful book. I'm thankful someone is speaking out with a prophetic voice about the nature of politics in our country and how in efforts to support our own individual hot-button agenda issues we manage to miss a lot of what God desires for humanity, our own country AND the rest of the world. Check out http://www.sojo.net/ for more.

T: Thai restaurants

There are an abundance of thai restaurants around Pasadena & it is the one type of food I think all 4 of us girls agree upon; it's actually become a comfort food of sorts for us. Which means we go a lot. Sometime last spring or early summer we decided to start rating the quality of pad thai at the various restaurants, so if you need good thai recommendations around here, just ask! (Saladang has the best phad thai by the way--City Thai on Colorado is a close second!)

U: Umbrellas

Well, not so much umbrellas, more the rain that causes us to need umbrellas! (Which doesn't happen all that often, but is awesome when it does!)

V: Vacation!

My parents had a business trip to Maui over my spring break so I flew out to join them for several days, and this summer the girls and I went to Catalina Island for a much needed weekend away in the middle of my Hebrew intensive--I love how breaks show up exactly when we are about to hit the wall!

Girls weekend on Catalina Island

Our "friend" Kernie also came to Catalina--I think he looks pretty relaxed! This was the view from the balcony of our condo.

W: Washington

Still my favorite place to visit--mountains, fresh air, pine trees, water, seasons, good friends, wonderful coffee shops--pretty much the main things I need to survive in life!

X: Xanthophyll

So this one probably needs a bit of an explanation. My sister was helping me come up with some of these words by googling “words that start with…” then was filling in different letters. When she entered X, xanthophyll came up, and she explained that it was the pigment inside a leaf that makes it turn yellow. Since fall is my very favorite season, and since I am bemoaning the lack of color changes around Pasadena, I think I am thankful for xanthophyll and wish the trees here had more of it!

Y: YOU!

That's right, if you are reading this, you are probably someone who has played a role in my life somehow this year, and because of that, I am thankful for YOU!

Z: Zeal

So it is an adjective, not a noun to be thankful for, but I think that is ok. Being here at Fuller with so many professors and students who are so zealous and passionate about their callings in life has been such an inspiration and gift to me. I'm surrounded by people who care so much about kids, youth, preaching, responsible exegesis, healing broken hearts, and seeing justice practiced here in our city and around the world, and for them, and for what they have taught me, I am incredibly thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I apparently am incapable of actually updating my blog with any regularity anymore...I'll work on that, I promise! Here are some pictures from my trip to Denver over Thanksgiving where I got to spend 4 days with Grandma, Papa, and my Uncle Vaughn, Aunt Carolyn, and cousins-it was a great break before coming back to start finals!

The California coastline shrouded in fog as I took off from LAX

It snowed the first night we were there! Here are Papa and Uncle Ernie shoveling a neighbor's driveway.Papa looks ready for some serious shoveling action!

Papa and Ernie warming up after shoveling

Dad got put to work (I think he was in the wrong place at the wrong time). They had him slicing sweet potatoes...and of course it took mom AND grandma to supervise.But they let him play with big knives, so he really couldn't complain too much!Hi Amanda!Mikaela & I were freezing in Grandma's house!Mikaela working on swiping wireless internet from the neighborsMom and JoanneA Father-Daughter moment

3 generations of Hansons

Amanda and I

Vaughn and Amanda just couldn't resist!

Papa calls in assistance for the carving.

Aunt Carolyn and Dad waiting patiently for their turn to go get food.

Grandma and I

Dad put up Papa's Christmas lights one afternoon

Uncle Vaughn gave himself the supervisory role

Denver Airport on Saturday night...wow, talk about a Holiday rush...

because I like random facts

I was doing some reading this morning and the author made a reference to the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, a comic strip that was my family's favorite for years (I think we have books of Calvin and Hobbes somewhere...) and the author mentioned that the creator of Calvin and Hobbes named his characters after the Reformed theologians John Calvin and the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes. There you have it, a piece of information you all needed to know today.

And in other news--it is FINALLY cloudy down here and cold enough to order a hot drink from the coffee shop as opposed to iced beverages. I got to pull my fluffy bathrobe out of the back of the closet today, which of course made me very excited :)

I'm not sure how we got here already....

Have you ever had one of those moments where you look back, realize a large amount of time has passed and you're not quite sure where it went? Yeah....I had one of those moments the other day, when I realized it was almost November, I just took two midterms, and I still feel a little like we just finished helping with orientation. So for those of you who I know faithfully check to find random updates from me, sorry for the lack of them this quarter! It's been a great 5 weeks since fall quarter began, classes are going well, but life just has a different feel to it these days--more relaxed, more fun. Last year was good, but the second year here at Fuller seems to be tough for a lot of people, and I think I definitely experienced that a bit. Classes get harder, the newness has worn off a bit, and the questions of "ok so why am I really here?" start to tug at people a little more than in year one. Internships are an amazing part of year 2 as well, and I absolutely loved mine, but that adds a different dimension to life as well, as people wrestle with trying to make sense of all the things learned in class with the practical life of a congregation. So last year felt long, definitely with great moments, but I'm not sure it was the most fun year of my life. This fall feels so different from that--things in the Presbyterian community seem to be functioning so much more smoothly (which absolutely lowers everyone's stress level at events!), I've had the chance to serve as a Teaching Assistant for a wonderful professor which has definitely pushed me and challenged me in several different ways, and even though two of my closest friends graduated in June and one is off-campus doing a hospital internship this quarter, I still get to see them more than I thought I would. (It helps that Sophie and Becca haven't left the area) :). Yes, I still have a ton of work to do before the quarter ends, but I'm not sure I mind so much right now, most of my work still feels fun (I'll admit that was NOT how I was feeling Monday night while trying to cram the entire history of ancient Israel into my head for my midterm on Tuesday morning!)

We haven't done all that much that is photo-worthy this quarter, but we did have a Halloween/birthday party for miss Becca recently, so here are some photos from that. The four of us went as the Fanta girls, from the soda commercials--and yes we do realize the outfits are much more conservative than the ones in the actual commercials--hey, it's us, no one should be that surprised :)

Becca, pre-party--she was attempting to wear as many colors as possible

Pocket with Becca's roommate, Hilary Clinton :)

Fanta, fanta...do you wanna?Christina & Steve--Princess Peach and Luigi from NintendoAaron came dressed as Jack Bauer from 24--so here he is saving the Fanta girls from immanent disaster

a few more photos from Pepperdine

Chuck posted a few more photos one of his students from Pepperdine took on Sunday morning and I thought I'd share them with you all. These are taken right on the Pepperdine campus...