I've been working on Christmas since before Thanksgiving. Planning and pondering what would be the right gift, how to bring the Christmas Spirit into my home, how not to hate the season. I've been working hard on this. One element I decided would reduce friction in our family's life was an easy Christmas tree. My grandma offered one she had in "storage." I thought free sounded great and asked if we could take her up on the offer. Well I had a spare day and went to start the project. My heart sank when I realized the free tree was stored about hundreds if not thousands of pieces of antique glass. A small sample can be seen in the background of the picture.
As we began I was spurred on thinking this grandmother and my mother don't call it quits when a job is hard so I better just quietly and carefully keep wrapping and assessing what needed to be clear to have a successful transfer of tree. It was hard to keep working when I really just wanted to look and look at all the stuff from years past. After about an hour Addie, grandma and I had cleared paths, moved boxes, and made a plan. I got up on the ladder and began removing box after box of collector edition toys. After that Addie climbed up and sat on the empty shelving and helped me maneuver the large box from its platform. With a deep breath and a prayer in my heart we pulled it down. Success. We carefully carried it to our car and breathed deep mouthfuls of air at the relief of done such technical work.
Those are real smiles at a hard project completed. At home the crowd was excited and leery of such an imposter. However the quickness of setting up the tree with no tools involved proved my point. I ordered tree scent from an essential oils company to quite that complaint and we were in business.
We made a quick dash back to my grandmas town to see the night parade. Usually we watch then spend the evening with her enjoying soup and delicious gingerbread cookies. Alas with restrictions and reserve we did not go in her house or spend time with her en masse that evening. We also found on our hurried rush to catch the show that our large van has a battery drain and would not start. Thus we piled into two cars and headed out about 10 minutes apart. Harold suggested we go the backway which was inspired because about 10 miles in we saw a car pulled over and people milling about working on a tire change. Those people were my children and the car was Anna's. Greg got out to assist and we proceeded onward to catch the very last moments of the light show. After making the obligatory cruise, I did as Greg would have and splurged for donuts for the family.
As I walked out with donuts in hand Greg and the other car pulled up. John went in to buy his own box of donuts, which he sold to the passengers in the other car for a tidy profit. Greg drove the rest of us home.
There wer continued to decorate the tree and our living area. Another gift from all the rearranging of the antique shop was a long lived Nativity set my grandmother purchased when her children were young. Lia has had the best time interacting with these pieces. They constantly move around this spot. They are hardy and holding up well. I love watching my kids begin their journey of understanding with things of God.
The tree leans but it is still standing, although not decorated so nicely. That's part of the experience is decorating the tree over and over again.
One priceless part of this season was watching my children watch the Nativity video. They were truly enthralled. Again observing and trying to foster opportunities for them to embed the goodness, miracle, and pure love of God into their hearts is a treasure.
My busy bee making delicious liquid chocolate aka cocoa bomb hotchocolate. I was trying to show case some beautiful hand made ornaments the girls received from their employer Don Hat. Also seen are Christmas goodies in preparation for treat delivery and snacking.
John made this lovely holiday door swag. I loved it, so did the little kids who picked it apart some to make their own decorations.
We always try to do some service projects for Christmas. This year we donated food for a meal to feed the homeless and needy in a neighboring town and donated tied blankets to a womens shelter. The kids had a ball tying the blankets while we listened to audio books on youtube.
Aliza and Addie made centerpieces for a young women's activity. Simple yet so tasteful and elegant just like these amazing daughters, graceful, intelligent, stealth, and so smart!
This year as something new we shared some apple pies. I was gifted the apples from a tree on my parents property. The apples have been waiting to be shared. Thus Reed peeled and peeled about a bushel of them and we made pie. Mark was the willing model for the pies. He is mostly found out caring for the animal's who are eating cornstalks. he is a busy guy. I'm thankful for his many abilities.
While we delivered on Sunday the weather became Christmassy. Because of the cows and the desire to go a lot of places this was not a welcome sight. It was completely nerve wracking when coming down a steep hill we were unable to stop and slid through a stop sign into oncoming traffic. The heart stopping experience was followed by extreme relief and confirmation that angels indeed had pushed the car away from us so we did not collide. I am so thankful for that gift.
And this guy is my gift for the year. He has his first tooth or two, he is pushing up into crawling position and his trainer Reed is working to get him moving. He loves to eat and is much more pleasant when full.
We are truly blessed with lots of goodness, lots of excitement, and lots of love. We learned tonight that love of God is what makes the Christmas spirit. That God loved the world enough to send his only perfectly obedient son to give us an example to show us that even though life is hard it can be good. That love we try to capture and emulate year after year in this one month. I think this year more than most the world is hungry for that true love and peace. The water (love, forgiveness, peace) Christ gives allows us to never thirst again, if we can hold onto it amidst all the distraction and busyness of life.
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