20 January 2010

today i am thanful for

the amazing privilege of prayer

12 January 2010

10 January 2010

09 January 2010

Just Do It!

I vaguely remember reading about the Pick a word for the year concept last year, and I have noticed it popping up here & there this year; it is an intriguing idea.  I really like Sarah's idea for setting goals for the new year.  Ah, yes, ideas, theories, plans, these are a few of my favourite things.  I love to think about things and plan things, but not so much to do things.  Oh, and I love to tweak things.  Of course, it being the 9th day of 2010, I am already behind.  I tend to do the whole life-evaluating, goal-setting deal around my birthday, too, which is at the end of June. 

So, here is my twisted, tweaked plan. 



My word is DO, and I even have a Bible verse to go with it:


Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men . . .
You are serving the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:23 & 24


And now, borrowing from Sarah, I am setting 6 goals for the next 6 months until my birthday (actually, exactly 24 weeks from tomorrow):

  1. walk 100 hours (40-45 minutes; 6 days a week)

  2. plan & prepare 168 home-cooked dinners (every. single. day.)

  3. complete 24 small decluttering projects (one a week)

  4. start & finish 4 knitting projects (one every 6 weeks)

  5. read 8 books (one every 3 weeks)

  6. 504 hugs, kisses, and smiles for my husband (three times, each & every day)


Then I will do it again for the second half of the year.

Christmas is over

I am (quite reluctantly) putting away the decorations, books, CDs, etc.  To be honest, I think that some of my reluctance stems not so much from a love of the season as from a sense of regret at (yet again) not completing many of my plans for us.  I truly have made efforts to limit my desires to only those things which I and/or my husband and children really want to do, yet I still seem to accomplish so little.  We did not finish any of the Advent readings; we never even got the fourth candle lit, let alone the Christ candle.  We didn't get a family picture.  We didn't make any ornaments.  We didn't even read the story of the Nativity from the Bible.  I did absolutely nothing special for the 12 Days of Christmas or Epiphany.

We did get a tree up and some lights on it; I gave the girls some pretty glass snowflake ornaments that I had bought at a craft fair (and promptly misplaced) last year, and
I bought some painted acorn snowcaps at a craft fair this year for the guys.  I finally attended a midnight Mass on Christmas Eve this year, and it was lovely.  We had our traditional Christmas brunch dishes: egg casserole, little smoked sausages, cranberry-pear crisp, and gingerbread baked in my castle-shaped-bundt-cake-pan.  We had some friends over on New Year's Eve and made a few more of our traditional treats: spinach piroshky, queso bites, and vegan-oatmeal-craisin-chocolate-chip cookies.  Before the arrival of our guests the kids and I got the house clean. really clean. cleaner than it's been in 5 years. and we have kept it up.

All told, it was not a bad Advent/Christmas season in our home.  My children and my wonderful husband all have fond memories of the past six weeks, and I
was able to focus on the nativity of our LORD and ignore the clamor for the world.

I think, though, that I will leave the blue twinkle lights which I bought for Advent this year up around the kitchen windows.  They have become a pleasant companion during my pre-dawn prayer time.

today i am thankful for...

the opportunity, privilege, and tremendous blessing of being at home and being able to teach my children

08 January 2010

today i am thankful for...

winter cold without the problem of icy roads
a warm house
a car with a good heater and seat warmers

06 January 2010

Wise Men Still Seek Him

 Bethlehem morning is more than just a memory;
for the child that was born there is the King of kings and LORD of lords...

 

all the kings that ever reigned, put together,
have not affected the life of man on earth as much as this one solitary life...

05 January 2010

Three versions of Three Kings

the simple:

 




the sacred:

 




and the silly:

 


02 January 2010

Toady i am thankful for...

a clean house, my husband's job, gingerbread and tea.

01 January 2010

Today I am thankful for

my kitchen windows and the morning sun on my face

Over the hills and everywhere!

 



Happy New Year!