Friday, December 21

Friday, December 21, the 21st day of Advent.

It is getting closer.  The baby Jesus is going to show up in the creche soon. I can hardly wait.  I love my little nativity and I love the anticipation of the season.

Today was a long day.  I didn't sleep well because I was thinking of my daughter and her medical procedure today. It all went well and we are confident everything is fine.

 I was up early with Bean getting her ready for school -- I am  used to afternoon pick up -- early morning drop off not so much.  But, drop off we did and I came home for another cuppa and a quick catnap before I had to go back for the classroom party.

We gave goody bags to the class and there was a book exchange.  Bean was pleased with what she received -- she loves those Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.  There was pizza and cookies and grapes and Capri sun.

Then we came home.  By the time we got home Mommy was well done with her procedure and Daddy came to pick up the Bean and I just sat down -- just sat down.  Tomorrow is another day.

Here are some rather random and chaotic photos of the party.

And to all a goodnight!

Thursday, December 20

Today is the 20th day of Advent--

Yikes!

That means it is 5 days until Christmas Day.

I read an article this morning about how it is going to take more than "put Christ back in Christmas" to get back to the real meaning of Christmas.

It talked  about how Christmas was banned in Early America.  It talked about the commercialization of the season.  It talked about how the modern day Santa came to be and how it is a big part of American culture now.

It was a sad article.  But, it was an eye opener.  I am really glad we "do" Advent in this house.

With that said, I am tired.  My daughter is having a medical "procedure" tomorrow and, while I am not worried, it is on my mind.  I also have the Bean for the night and I have to get her to school and then go back three hours later for her Christmas party.  

I made goody bags for her classmates but it seems a good number of them are either going to be gone for Christmas visits elsewhere or they are throwing up.

I have no words.

So, I have to deliver those and teacher gifts and make sure she doesn't eat any nut laced cookies.  Parties are just a little nerve wracking.  I will be glad when it is over.
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What did I do today?  Laundry.  Hubs was under the weather so we didn't do anything but make a run to the bank.  I cooked dinner and made a couple of cards.  I am trying to get all my laundry caught up because I would like to start a new plan to keep things up and done. "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry".  Ah, yes.  We shall see.

So, I am off to hang up wet uniforms, wash my hair, put somebody to bed and probably collapse.  There is a reason God gives children to young women.

Goodnight.

Wednesday, December 19

It is the 19th day of Advent and....

it is trying hard to rain.

I have done nothing today but wash towels.

I did make a couple of cards --

I have learned a lot from making these cards this year.  I have learned a little patience.  I have learned some about planning and balance.  I have learned that glitter paper is evil.  I have also learned that they need to be mailed to the UK in August to arrive in December.

I have enjoyed making the cards and am
honing in  on my style which is pretty simple.  There are a lot of lovely things out there but I am just a simple person and it shows in my cards.

Now I can start on my birthday stash considering I have January birthdays to acknowledge.  At any rate it is good fun and I enjoy doing it.

So, the rest of the day just involves dinner, more towels to wash and picking up "stuff" that has migrated all over the place. 

This part of Advent has been very uneventful.

Tuesda y, December 18

Today is the 18th day of Advent and....

I am pooped.

Had semi-sick baby all day.  She didn't do much, watched a couple of movies, read, worked on a project -- she was quiet and not hungry.  She complained about her stomach hurting a couple of times.  I am not sure if it is a bug or something else.  I am seriously thinking something else. 

I don't have much to add to the post today.  We went to the library.  I have lost my library card so I had to replace it.  It cost me $2.  I have no idea where I lost it.  I don't like not having a library card so I am glad to have a replacement.

I am going to bed early, I think.  I think I need a little extra sleep tonight.

Monday, December 17

It is the 17th day of Advent and......



my granddaughter just tossed her cookies all over the place.


Sigh.  Why did I think we were going to have a sick-free Christmas?

Silly Nona.

See you tomorrow!

Sunday, December 16

Today is the 16th day of advent.  Today we lit the pink candle for gaudete Sunday -- the Sunday of joy.

Joy -- what makes you joyful?  My family makes me joyful.  Sunshine makes me joyful.  Good movies, good books, good health.  Church makes me joyful. Church music makes me joyful.

Tonight's meal was spaghetti and meatballs, salad and bread.  Ice cream was for dessert.  I have never enjoyed cooking and I think I have figured out why.  I always make things too complicated.  Lately I have been making simple meals and it has been going better.  I even made my own salad dressing tonight.  It was all good.

I finished wrapping gifts and I am working putting together Bean's gifts for her classmates -- just about done. 

It was a nice day -- it is warm and I am looking forward to running a few errands tomorrow. 


Watching "Love Actually" right now and getting sleepy so I will bid you a goodnight.

Saturday, December 15

Today is the 15th day of Advent.  I didn't really forget to post because I have an exciting post but.....I fell asleep.  So, here it is.

Today the Hubs and I went to lunch at a local barbecue place before grocery shopping and guess who we saw?

Santa and one of his elves!  They were right there getting barbecue just like everybody else! 

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera and I don't know if I would have felt comfortable snapping a pic and disturbing them although others did. 

And Santa was such a GENTLEMAN.  He actually took his hat off and laid it on the table during his meal.

And you know what else?  I am pretty sure this was the real deal.  Why?  Because I truly believe his beard was real.

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

His elf was super adorable -- a little lady elf with the cutest little pointy ears (they may have been on her hat) you ever did see. 

As I headed to the ladies room I smiled while passing by and I couldn't help myself -- I had to say something so --

I said "you just make people smile" and she smiled and it was a MOMENT!  So cool.

I need to learn to carry the camera with me.

Friday, December 14

On the 14th day of Advent -- there is a Girl Scout Christmas party.  Our troop grew from 7 to 17 this year so this was no quiet little affair.  It was big and noisy and messy and these girls are so much fun.  With that I will share the photos of the evening.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos of the food which was abundant.

Our fearless leader -- pumped and ready for the shindig

The Bean Tree

Tasteful decor

Surprise gifts from our fearless leader

A quiet moment for two of our Brownies before the festivities begin

An unexpected, but welcome, guest

the gift table

The pottery projects from the trip to the pottery studio

A short meeting

bad lightening but more of the short meeting

lining up for food--and there was so much of it. 

chow line

Tuppy, our resident Elf, decided to show up for the event

Such a good group of little girls -- it is a privilege to be able to work with them

 

And here is our fearless leader after the fact

 After the food and the gift exchange the girls had voted to decorate cookies and watch a movie.  They were all pretty droopy by 8:30 but I think it was a good time for all.

Thursday, December 13

Today is the 13th day of Advent and I spent it helping get the Girl Scout Christmas party situated.  The party is tomorrow.

Our weather was supposed to be very dire and dismal today -- torrential rain, a chance of wintry mix and 50 mph winds.  We were instructed to take down all the Christmas decorations and batten down the hatches.

So far I have seen about 20 drops of rain, the wind blew about 15 minutes and there is no snow in sight. 

That is ok with me.

I haven't done any holiday baking yet but am giving some thought to those Welsh cookies.  I sort of miss those days of baking for the kids but nobody wants to eat all of that sort of stuff anymore so I just don't do much of it.  We will see, I might get around to it.

So, today was a nice, quiet day.  Thinking about all these little girls we are going to be partying with tomorrow -- they are sweet things and I will post some photos.  It should be a good time.

Wednesday, December 12

Today is the 12th day of Advent.  It is supposed to be a nice day that will usher in a cold front bringing us a lot of wind, apparently, and the chance for snow.

They are treating the roads.  That is a good thing because we have lots of roads here and they are all dangerous even when it is dry.  I am praying the weather folks are incorrect.

I am using a little book called "Jesus Calls" for my devotions right now.  I learned of this book after seeing daily screenshots of it on facebook, posted by a friend of a cousin.  They are very relatable devotions and I enjoy reading them.  I have the book on my kindle but I am thinking of buying the physical book -- and there are several more in the collection.

Today's devotion works into this week of faith.  "This is why you must live by faith, not by sight, trusting in My mysterious, majestic Presence."  "We live by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7.  The message today starts "I am taking care of you."  How warm and comforting is that? When I read that I felt as if I was being wrapped in a big, minky blanket.  It goes on to say "Feel the warmth and security of being enveloped in my loving Presence.  Every detail of your life is under My control.  Moreover, everything fits into a pattern for good, to those who love me and are called according to My design and purpose."  Wow.

If you can acquire one of these books, either a physical book or an electronic book, it is a great start to the day.

Because I have changed my approach to Christmas this year I have a lot more time to enjoy some of the programming.  Last night I watched the Darci Lynn special.  Remember she was the little puppeteer from America's Got Talent.  She is only about 13 years old but she has a voice that, in my opinion, rivals other young singers like Brenda Lee.  The show was enjoyable and I loved hearing her sing "Mary Did You Know".

I can't find a clip of her so I will just include this --


 

Tuesday, December 11

Today is the 11th day of Advent and I will say it has been a challenging one.

I had a dental appointment for a minor procedure -- took 10 minutes.  But, I woke up with a sore throat.   After a couple of cups of warm tea it went away but I don't really have time to get sick.

I  my read my devotion and decided to get ready for my 10 a.m. appointment.  For some reason I decided to check the appointment time and I was a couple of hours too early.  That is when things started getting strange.

We went to the dentist and to lunch at our favorite restaurant.  Then we stopped by our other house to pick up our mail and we stopped at the cemetery to leave flowers on my parents grave.  We got home just in time to pick up the Bean.

It was then that I realized I had gone through the whole day thinking it was Wednesday.  Don't you hate it when that happens?

I wish I hadn't realized it because it threw me completely off.

And then there is the threat of snow.  In keeping with our theme of Faith this week -- I have faith that our weather man is wrong-- he usually is.  No snow -- please, no snow.