Christmas Week in the Olive Grove

Happy 4th day of Christmas! 

I just love keeping Christmas as a season rather than a single day.  The local radio station may have stopped playing Christmas music, but all of my favourite cd's are getting a good work-out.  There may be no more "holiday specials" on television, but there are still quite a few in my Netflix queue.  There are more special books to read in the basket in the family room; the halls are decked with red and green and angels and gingerbread houses and folk, and the Magi are journeying toward the Creche.  Formal academic studies remain on hold while we relax, rejoice, and reflect.

Some highlights of this past week ~

• 
  
  reading through my signed copy of Susan Branch's Christmas Joy which arrived on Saturday
  
  


• celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary on Sunday


• baking oatmeal/cranberry cookies and pumpkin/spice cake (both vegan and whole-grain)


• hanging lights and garland


• putting out all of the angels and the nativity scene


• reading the Christmas story from the Bible


• making our traditional breakfast casseroles (and eating them)


• seeing the gifts that the kids chose for each other and UncleB and their daddy and me ~ I am really proud of the amount of thought that they each put into it this year ~ they really considered the recipient and the results were delightful


• taking the kids to the toy store and the book store to use their gift cards


• watching Holiday Inn and White Christmas


• listening to Christmas in the Northwest (even if it does make us homesick)


• talking about the (possibly) hidden meanings behind the true love gifts in the Twelve Days of Christmas


• sleeping in


• spending time with daddy and UncleB when they both had some time off from work


• special Christmas devotional readings


• no snow here in central Texas, but overnight temperatures have dipped below freezing several times this week

By the way, nobody that we invited was able to make it to our open house on Christmas Day, but we had a wonderful time anyway ~ just the 10 of us!

Coffee, Shakespeare, Downtown Lights, Bubbly, and Music

That is how we marked Tibby's graduation.  Her Daddy and I took her downtown to her favourite coffee shop and presented her with her gift of The Complete Works of Shakespeare.  Afterward, we took a stroll up to the Capital, enjoying the Christmas lights along the way.  Then it was back home for a toast to the graduate (sparkling grape juice for the kids).  We said our goodnights, got back into the car, and headed to the late showing of August Rush where the three of us had the theatre completely to ourselves.  Tibby really enjoyed the movie, and said that it had been a great night.  I went to bed happy, knowing that she was happy.

Humming Pomp and Circumstance...

SHE DID IT!

Yes, I am now the very proud mother of a high school graduate.

Thankful Thursday

Heavenly Father, thank You so much for the precious gift of Your Son. 

Thank You, Jesus, for leaving Your glorious home in heaven and humbling Yourself to come down into this world. be born in a stable, walk among sinful men, be rejected, ridiculed, spat upon, beaten, and crucified for me. 

Thank You for conquering death by rising on the third day, so that I have the assurance of an eternal life with You.

Thank You for my adundant life.

Keeping Advent

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

~Charles Wesley