Christmas Makes Me Cry

All is calm.

Yeah, so, uhm, there is no excuse for my laziness here at ye olde blog.
Except of course all the holiday sparkle & jazz.
And piled on top of that, we got SNOW (major snow, like 8-10 inches) in our neck of the woods last weekend, which just threw all of our carefully laid plans into chaos. :)
As if that is not enough, I found out last week that it's official: I AM OLD. I have plantar fasciitis and a torn ligament in my right foot. The ligament was torn sometime this summer and ignored the pain. (STUPID!) Therefore I changed my walking pattern and in the process, caused my hip to have problems. Bottom line: I AM VERY OLD.

But I'm stopping in here to say, that I hope that somewhere in your life you have a 2 year old and a 4 year old you can connect with --- stop what you are doing right.this.moment. and ask them about Christmas! Oh my! The excitement meters are going into overtime. The season has never been more fun than this year!!

So Merry Christmas to each one of you.
"God bless Us, everyone!"

Sabbath Rest

On the 7th day of christmas, I guess I decided to take a break & forget about blogging. :)
Ha!

Third day: 3 of my favorite christmas cookies

7 layer bars
PB with hershey kisses
M&M

What ones do you like this time of the year?

"Two Turtle Doves"

Those of you who know me well know that I am terrified of birds.
(Understatement of the year.)
I hate those little critters. Put me in a locked room with one flying around and I'd go stark.raving.crazy. I'd rather touch a snake that a bird.


That being said, I LOVE the symbolism of a dove representing peace.
There are many times in my life that I have prayed for the peace of Christ to surround me. HIS peace has been my lifeline in situations when I saw no way out. It is my comfort and my joy.

On this second day of christmas, I am thankful beyond measure for the gift of peace.

You will experience God's peace,

which exceeds anything we can understand.

His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus

Phillipians 4:7

First Day of Christmas

In keeping the first things first, today I am thankful for the babe in the manger.

As a woman who was barren, I cannot describe my joy when my son (and then my daughter) was placed into my arms. Words fail me. The emotion was so thick, so powerful, so life changing. And everything that was shattered in my heart was healed in those moments.

I am drawn towards the baby in every nativity scene I see this season. I imagine that new baby smell, the softness of his skin, the wail of his little lungs.
Everything that was broken in this world was healed by HIS birth.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,

who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

BLAH-humbug!

I am not a scrooge. Not at all.
I love christmas. Love everything about the season.

But for an odd mixture of reasons, I've been more than a little crabby in recent days. It feels like most of my creative juices are dried up, hence the no posting here. I've snapped at my kids. I've been inconsiderate of my husband's feelings. Blah. Blah. Blah.

I gave up the whole "Martha Stewart" version of the holidays a long time ago. I don't do it all, nor do I feel guilty that I don't. I'm more than likely to pick up a tub of pre-made cookie dough than mix up a batch of homemade. We don't buy for a long list of people. I didn't send christmas cards last year and it was liberating.

Physically I just feel weary. Worn down.
Tired. Sooooooooooo tired. I think I pinched a nerve in my back, because it's outta whack and my hip is bothering (Woot! Woot! I'm talking old people stuff here!! Ailments galore!!! :) )

I need an attitude adjustment.
The next 12 posts will follow the "12 days of Christmas" theme & I plan on sharing my gratitude lists with you. Join me! I want to put the "emphasis on the right syllable" this holiday.

Fear Not!

The boy's interpretation of nativity visitors.