WELCOME

Christmas Eve....the day before Christmas!  I honestly can't believe it's here.  Where has the time gone?  In my own life, I somewhat "missed a week" a couple of weeks ago when my daddy was very sick.  Before I knew it, here is today.  Christmas Eve.

I've spent most of the day today in food preparation and gift wrapping.  No, I'm not preparing a big meal, just a small one.  No, all my gifts are still not wrapped and yes, it's Christmas Eve late afternoon.  The Husband and I spent an hour or two at the church making preparations for the Christmas Eve service tonight.  Yes, it's his turn.  Here on Christmas Eve that has arrived quickly.

Even though Christmas has "snuck" up on me this year, I can truthfully say that the real meaning of the event hasn't escaped my thoughts.  Most years I purchase Christmas cards after Christmas for the great sale prices.  I always like to find those that tell the REAL story of Christmas just in case some receivers haven't heard.  I was shopping a few weeks ago and found another box of cards that I felt I had to have.  Let me preface this card a bit with some commentary.

Not knowing the premier date of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" but certain I was alive and saw the premier, I can pretty much tell you all the lines in this special television seasonal event.  It is such a seasonal "staple" that even The Pastor mentioned it in his Sunday sermon last Sunday.  The Girl has a Peanuts nativity.  It's that big of a deal.  Anyways, for all these years I have loved the part where all the kids are dancing around and Charlie asks "Doesn't anyone know what Christmas is all about?"  Linus speaks up and says that he does, then proceeds to recite the whole KJV version of Luke 2.  Gives.  Me. Chills.  Every single time.  And even more so now that I've aged and have experienced the REAL meaning of Christmas in my own life.  So with that said, here's my cards:

I love them!

When The Husband and I were headed out together the other morning, we had on the radio station called The Fish.  One of my new favorite Christmas songs began to play.  I got all blessed over and over again just riding down the road with The Husband.  Listening to the words of that song made me ever so thankful that I know the Holy Child and that HE IS MY SAVIOR!  I want to share the words of this song with you and hope that, even if you might not know the tune of the song, you will be blessed by the words.  Think on them and rejoice!  The song is "Welcome to our World" and goes like this:

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking
How we need to hear from God
You've been promised, we've been waiting

Welcome Holy Child
Welcome Holy Child

Hope that you don't mind our manger
How I wish we would have known
But long-awaited Holy Stranger
Make Yourself at home
Please make Yourself at home

Bring Your peace into our violence
Bid our hungry souls be filled
Word now breaking Heaven's silence

Welcome to our world
Welcome to our world

Fragile finger sent to heal us
Tender brow prepared for thorn
Tiny heart whose blood will save us
Unto us is born
Unto us is born

So wrap our injured flesh around You
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy

Perfect Son of God
Perfect Son of God
Welcome to our world

Just the words of that song give me chills all over again.  And THAT'S what Christmas is all about!

Merry, merry CHRISTmas!

TREASURES

In the past, I have actually done Christmas decorating before Thanksgiving.  On occasion.  It has always been done by the day after Thanksgiving.  Until this year.  I can't seem to catch up.  Here I am on December 3 finishing decorating.  I decided this year to cut back on my decorating a bit, then had a hard time deciding what to leave in the box.

The decorating process today has set my mind into deep thought.   I have smiled a bit, cried a bit, and felt thankful a lot.  I've realized that the tree ornaments and even other decorations really hold many memories, both good and bad, and represent different stages of life.

My tree decorations remind me of many things.

As a young girl, I loved playing with my Midge doll.  Now many of you might not remember Midge as being Barbie's good friend.  In my house her dress was pink instead of blue as on the ornament I have but it was made the same.  She had the same straw hat, straw bag, and the same bangs and continuous curl hair style. On my Midge, which I still have, one side of the curls has been cut.   One day I wondered how she would look without the curls.  I got my scissors and found out.    I so loved Midge and wished to look just like her....with continuous, not cut curls, around the whole bottom of my hair.    As we know, if wishes were horses, everyone would be riding.  I learned to be happy with how I was.

Special ornaments on our tree remind The Husband and me of our first Christmas together.  One is dated, the others are not.  That first Christmas I remember buying a package of wooden cutout ornaments that we had to paint.  And yes, I remember The Husband helping paint those along with a friend who was visiting.  That was when The Husband was young and foolish and didn't know he didn't have to help.  We always mention those ornaments every year and while they might have seemed unimportant a few years between then and now, they have grown into priceless ones this day.  I plan to let The Girl choose some for her tree.  Every tree needs antiques.

The special priceless treasures on my tree were made by the small childish hands of The Girl.  I just get all warm and fuzzy every year that I put them on the tree--one made from a piece of sandpaper, the other from popcorn.  And believe me, I've been putting these certain ones on the tree for about thirty years now and the warm and fuzzy feeling grows with every passing year.

There are ornaments that remind me of the blessing of family with many from The Sister.  Some call attention to sisterhood and that reminds me of the times when we were young and the blessing now that we are older of sister friendship, even though we are years apart in age.  Maybe my sister sees me as "angelic", suppose?  Maybe some days so, maybe others not so much.

There are ornaments that remind me friendship such as this one that says "A friend is a partner in life's merry moments" to which I would say now that a friend is such in those not-so-merry-moments as well....the gift of real friendship.  And notice the date....1984?  How many years ago was that?  Seems like yesterday but alas, was not.

Many ornaments on my tree were given to me by children that I was blessed to work with at our church.   There are too many to count....both children and ornaments.  They are all special...both children and ornaments.

The Mother-In-Law moved to heaven almost ten years ago.  How times flies!  There are ornament treasures on our tree that belonged to her and hung on her tree when The Husband was even a child.  Every year that we hang them, our memories draw her even closer in heart.

And then there are those that tell us all the true meaning of Christmas....the birth of our Lord!  What a wonderful gift to us all that He is!

This one is not your typical ornament but speaks volumes and was giving to me by a couple of sweet young guys.  It reminds me of one of my Christmas cards this year that said "The wise men followed the star to the Light of the World."  That saying gave me chills.  He is a BIG light in a very dark world.
I would like to shine His light brighter every day.

There are, of course, other decorations that are special to me....the macaroni Christmas tree, our first Christmas as a family photo, and the others such as these.  The family photo makes me smile when I consider our "style" in clothing.  The Husband loved that shirt of his and my glasses were very large.  And my grandma's couch was very decoratively stylish for that particular decade, wasn't it?

When The Girl and The Son-In-Law married, I passed along to her the angel tree topper we had used since she came to our family.  It's not the prettiest, but it's special.  I also took time the other day to tie 24 pieces of candy on a cross stitched banner I made for her many, many years ago.  It has a Santa and a cute verse and counts down the days until Christmas.  It has been hung and counted down Christmas every year since I made it.  She was just three years old or so when I made it.  I noticed it yesterday in her house.  Many see a pretty unique piece of decoration when they look, but to me I see something different.  I remember cross-stitching that at a very sad time in my life....a time of such grief and lack of understanding of God's plan for me and for our family.  That sewing process was what I needed to help me through that.  Now when I look at that piece, a simple cross-stitched piece, I am reminded that I don't have to know "The Plan".  I don't have to understand why bad things happen to people who really try to do right.  I don't have to worry about the "what ifs" of life.  That piece of cross stitching represents hope to me.   All I have to do is trust my Lord and Savior who was born that night so long ago.   That young Joseph and Mary didn't really know "The Plan" either, but they were willing to trust.  I can do that, too.  How grateful I am that I have reminders even in that cross-stitched piece to keep that reinforced.

So treasures on my tree and in my decorations?  Ah....so, so many.  But more than that are the treasures in my heart and the blessings in my life that they represent.  I am one blessed girl!

Amen!

THANKFUL!

Thanksgiving Day, 2014, a day of giving thanks.  But really, shouldn't each day and minute of the day be one for giving thanks?  Boy, do I miss that most days!

My family has already eaten the turkey last Sunday at The Girl's house.  It was a delicious turkey and meal with wonderful people and a memory not soon forgotten.  I will say The Girl and The Son-In-Law entertained in a mighty way.  I am happy that I will never worry about their ability to prepare good food to sustain them.    Delicious!

So for today, The Husband and I are having a day together.  I prepared a nice breakfast, we ate leftover lasagna for lunch and will feast on Grilled Salmon with Herb and Meyer Lemon Compound Butter (a Chef Anne Burrell recipe) for supper.  I chose salmon because the favorite grocery store had a sale and The Husband and I need to eat a boatload of fishy foods.

For the main event of the day, I find myself giving thanks with a grateful heart.   Material things we consider blessings when considering what to be thankful for, are really not the big deal.  It's those things of the heart that are most wonderful.  Not to forget those material things and be grateful, but especially not to forget the things that are "unseen".

So here goes.  I'll give it a try....thanks...

...for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who has given grace, mercy, and salvation to me and who loves me all the time, even when I'm very unloveable.  And believe me, there are some days I am surely that.  Some days I don't even love me.  But He does.  Thanks....

....for my Savior's unseen hand that guides me through hard times gripping me tightly and "claps" with me through the easy, happy times of rejoicing.  Thanks....

...for the blessing of family.    What a wonderful one I have with The Husband, The Girl, The Son-in-Law, The Parents, The Sister and her Family, The Siblings and Families of The Husband's, The Church Family....the list goes on and on.  Thanks....

...for the blessing of friends, those old and those new.  The ones that maybe just passed through my life only a short time never to be heard of again, but touched me in a way that I will never be the same.  Thanks....

...for health, such as it is.  Medicines to control the pains, heating pads, English pea ice packs in the freezer, insulin pumps and sensors, insulin, glucose tablets, and doctors who have knowledge.  Thanks....

...for the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the easy and the hard.  Daily.  Thanks...

...for the comfort of a warm home, food on the table, clothes on my body, and all those material things I thought of and the ones I take for granted.  Thanks....

....for answered prayer.  Ahhh, what a big one this is!  So many answered prayers and not always the way I wanted them to be answered but the best way because the big guy way up there that controls my life knows best.  And isn't it great that He does?!  Thanks...

....for the sounds of children singing.  How I love the sounds of children singing!  "Dear Lord we vow to thank you for all the good you give.  For birds and trees, for skies and seas, the world in which we live.  Dear Lord we vow to thank you for family and friends.  For food and for your faithfulness, you love which never ends"...my very favorite of the church Thanksgiving songs!   Thanks...

...for so many more things to be thankful for, I could count all day long.  THANKS!

I trust the Lord knows my heart and the thankfulness it contains and gives to Him and Him alone.  As the scriptures say, "In EVERYTHING give thanks" so on this day I say again, Thanks for it ALL!

Amen!

NORTH

Last week The Husband took me on a trip.  We had planned for a couple of months after he told me to decide where I would like to go.  He said he would go anywhere I wanted.  Well, being the good wife I am, I felt I should choose somewhere he might enjoy as well so after much thought, I chose upstate New York and the Adirondacks, a place neither of us had explored.

We flew into Rochester and found a small airport.  I mean really small.  It was nice after the zoo in our own local airport.  We began driving toward the southern part of the Adirondacks to spend the night at the Herkimer Motel.  After getting a recommendation from the nice Northern motel attendants, we ate a nice supper, then came outside the restaurant to find the rain had begun.  The rain continued for a couple of days.  I'm not talking a little rain, but a lot of rain.

Many have asked about my pictures from the trip.  I seem to have this reputation among my friends that I can take good pictures.  I will say that I take a LOT of pictures and eventually get some keepers but really, I'm not a very scientific good photographer.  I do enjoy the effort, though.  Rain doesn't make for very good picture taking efforts.  In spite of the rain many days, I still got some I like so I will share.  You can learn about the trip as we go along.

As I said, we began the first two days with rain....and we actually ended the trip with rain....and had some rain in the middle, too....

We visited Lake Placid and spent a night there.  The 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics were held in Lake Placid.  We took a wonderful tour at the Olympic Center.  Our tour guide was a gentleman who served on the Lake Placid Olympic committee from the beginning of the bidding process.  He had some wonderful inside stories for the two of us, the only two of us on the tour.  It turned into a private tour.  Nice.

The 1980 Olympics is the one where the USA beat Russia in ice hockey.  Who could forget that?  It was also the year Eric Heiden won the five gold medals in speed skating.  The hockey game somehow overshadowed the individual efforts of the five gold medalist in speed skating.  It should not have.  Eric Heiden also broke a world record and an Olympic record in addition to his five individual gold medals.  Quite a feat, I would say!

Here we are at the entrance to the hockey rink where the famed hockey game took place back in 1980.  Yes, I had on a long sleeved shirt, a fleece vest, AND a fleece jacket along with a scarf and gloves in my pocket.  It was cold...at one point 39 degrees with a windchill of 31 degrees.  Brrr.....

There was the 1932 figure skating rink where Sonja Henie won the women's figure skating medal.  Olympians still train there today.  The rink itself was quite smaller than the hockey one and had many, many fewer seats.

We saw the speed skating rink where Eric Heiden won his five gold medals.  It is immediately next door to the Olympic Center right in front of a building that looks very governmental.  Turned out that building is the high school there in Lake Placid.  It has been there for years and years.  The speed skating rink is still used today. 

After our tour ended we visited the museum housed on the lower level of the center.  While it was very small, there were many interesting things.  Here are a few....

We ate lunch, then drove out to the ski jump area which was actually closed for the day.  I was able to get some photos from across the street.  While it is localized in a very small area, it is very high as you can see from the pictures.

After that, we drove to the bobsled, luge, and cross country skiing areas.  Some young men were training on the bobsled for some tryouts that were coming up.  The Husband and I found a viewing area, listened for the starting horn and bobsled sounds and I got my camera ready.  The bobsleds were SOOOOO fast!  I actually had my camera ready about fourteen times before I got a bobsledder in the photo!  I have all fourteen pictures to prove it!   This area, too, is amazing.  The whole "Olympic" experience makes us look forward to the next Winter Olympics....kind of puts a different spin on watching.  Get it?  Skating...spin?  (Insert smile here.)

We found a lodge that made their own maple syrup and sold in their shop on the "honor system".

Unfortunately, Whiteface Mountain (the Olympic ski mountain) was closed also and with the clouds there, was fairly impossible to photograph so we drove on to Plattsburgh, an hour or so from the Canadian border.  (No, we did not go into Canada.  We are passport-less.  We stayed on our home turf).

The Husband's planned fishing day on the ever so large Lake Champlain was postponed for a day because of wind threats so we drove up to the border, took a look, then crossed into Vermont and drove a ways before taking the Lake Champlain ferry back into New York. 

Before we got to the ferry, the rain began yet again...and you can tell from these Vermont flags that the wind blew as well.  Brrr....

On the fishing trip, The Husband and his guide caught many smallmouth bass fish, a kind of fish he had never caught before.  Imagine that...with all his fishing experience and skills.  I was happy he had a fun day and success.  I spent a little shopping time, then a little motel resting time and had a fun time as well.

As we headed out to Cooperstown the next day, we saw many beautiful sights of color, water, and mountains....all with a blue sky! 

We saw loons, ducks, and beaver areas.

At Cooperstown,  we ate a supper of New York Style Pizza. Our meal the next day at a very small diner consisted of hamburgers--one a VERY jumbo burger.  Guess who ordered such?

We enjoyed seeing the sights of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The most memorable things I saw there were these....one is made out of baseball cards--front and back, the other two statues made completely out of wood.  AMAZING talent for sure.  

We visited the Farmers' Museum. 

I took a picture of this pig pen to remind us all the horrible shape the prodigal son got in before coming back home to his father....

It was their last open day of the year so they were giving free carousel rides.  The carousel was unique and had different animals and paintings of New York places.

Our trip neared it's end as we headed back toward the airport, stopping in Auburn (not of orange "War Eagle" fame) NY to spend the night.  That route showed us much beautiful farmland amidst more rainy skies. 

The next morning as we carried on toward the airport, we also had time to go north of the airport and get a glimpse of the windy Lake Ontario before returning our rented car and checking in.  It was REALLY cold there by that large body of water.

We arrived at the Rochester airport to more rain.  The landing at the airport back at home happened on the second try as wind was a factor.  Turbulence in the air is not my idea of a good time.  I don't like those kind of landings at all but all turned out well. 

The trip gave me many more photos.  Leaves were two weeks past their peak but still this beautiful....

For now, that's all folks!  Hope you enjoyed the "journal".