Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The Simplest Things



"When we recall Christmas past,
























we usually find that the simplest things,

















not the great occasions,























give off the greatest glow of happiness.
~Bob Hope

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

3/5 of the Girls & Their Elves



Some moments in life are,
hands down,
better than others.
And this past weekend
fell into the
"Ok, this is a special time!"
category.

For instance, on the first day of our extended weekend,
Christmas baking!
This year was a bit more enjoyable
as Christa and Rachel were part of the baking crew.


And if you remember from Christa/Robert's
wedding weekend post,
Rachel sure loves to have the supervisory role...
(the apron above was just a prop :)


But, remember,
 there was a little elf involved...


and she was more than willing
to have elf-duty...

which she excelled at, I'll have you know.


We did have a larger elf,
who came in once in awhile to give his two cents worth,
 to help with the star cookies,
 and to claim his own perfect star.
(You're one of our 'r'ock 's'tars, Robert!)


And at one point during the day,
as I was in the living room playing on the floor with a little elf,
I get a very excited call from the kitchen from my youngest,
"Mom, hurry up, come look!!!"
I jump up to see what all of the excitement is about,
to rush into the kitchen to see this...


Christa's proud accomplishment of scooping multiple cookies
from the cookie sheet!
I got the call when she had four on the spatula at a time.
Imagine her excitement when she managed the five!!
Picture a big smile,
 and if she were able to jump up and click her heels
while simultaneously balancing the cookies,
she would have!


As you can imagine,
 baking all day made us ravenous

and the eldest of the elves
stepped in to do his part.


So with carols in the background and
loved ones around the table,




we basked in the specialness of the day,
knowing that these moments are sometimes
too few and far in between.


(to be continued)





Sunday, December 11, 2011

The Gift





Years ago,
during the girls' elementary school years,
a local church had a meals delivery program
to the elderly shut-ins in our community.

Wednesday
was our day to deliver
delicious meals prepared by Miss Edna.

So I would load up any of the kids
around the lake who were available
into the mega-wagon

and off we would go
traveling
the bumpy clay back roads of West Putnam.

~~~
Now there was one woman,
well into her eighties,
who was on our route.

She was always glad to see
a carload of kids show up at her door,
and her face would visually brighten.

And every year,
when I decorate my tree,
I think of her.



You see,
one day we showed up with her meal
during the beginning of Christmas season,
and there was a bare tree in the
corner of her living room.

Since she was quite frail,
we offered our help
to decorate.



"Oh no," she said.
"I just take my time.  It will take me
about two weeks to finish,
but decorating the tree is my
gift to Jesus."



The memory of her intention
helps me remember
what this season
is all about. 

Celebrating the One
who is the ultimate
gift-giver.



Happy Birthday, Jesus!