The Ornamental Mystery

One morning, I woke up and made my way to the living room to ready for the baby's arrival. Laying on the couch was a handmade dove ornament from the tree. Odd, I thought. I was quite sure that our ornaments did not have the capability of flying off the tree on there own, but I had other things on my mind, so I replaced the dove and carried on. A little later, I was sitting in the recliner, enjoying a hot cup of coffee, and I glanced over at the tree. What did I find but an empty socket on the strand of lights!! DEFINITELY odd. I KNOW that our lights do not get up in the middle of the night and hop off the tree. I looked around the tree to see if I could figure out what was going on and discovered the runaway light bulb and a couple more ornaments hiding on the floor under the tree. WHAT had gotten into my Christmas decorations??



Suddenly, a small orange thing jumped out at me from under the tree... The cat! Crumb-Crumb found many fun playthings on the Christmas tree and began removing lights and ornaments for his entertainment. I shook my head and put the tree back together, and later caught him playing with the red ball by the formerly missing light bulb. *sigh*



*disclaimer: No ornaments or Christmas lights were harmed in the (still) filming of this post.

♪♫ Making a List, and Checking Things Off ♫♪

Remember that list of things to do? The one that came with the reminder to enjoy the relationships and Reason rather than get bogged down in the project? Well.... I'm here to tell you, I am making PROGRESS!! Hip, hip, HURRAY!! Look what I've accomplished so far:

♦ Cookies:

◊ Grandma’s press cookies
◊ Chocolate peppermint cookies
◊ Peanut butter blossoms (We ate all the ones that mom sent home on Friday. Yes, we’re lushes sometimes. Yes, they were very tasty.)

◊ Saltine Cracker Toffee Bars (definitely on the permanent list!!)
◊ ANOTHER batch of Mrs. O’s sugar cookies. VERY important

◊ Decorate sugar cookies

◊ Ice the molasses cookies that are already done

♦ Make cookie trays from said cookies + the cookies that we already did on Friday (the ones that actually lasted the weekend around here…)

♦ Thaw out the cookies that we made Friday – that should probably be done first…..
♦ Deliver said cookie trays to K&K, Carquest, H-city fire department (for all their help – technically it’s from us, but it is F-town Fire Department’s “thank you”)
♦ Christmas cards
♦ Pick up and wrap remaining presents from mom’s house
♦ Put together gifts for Batman’s family
♦ Learn go over song to do with the brothers for the Christmas program on Sunday
♦ Get ahold of the brother with the idea to find out what song it is – again. (Ahem, Z, if you’re reading… I, uh, needtoberemindedofwhatsongwearedoing. I am pretty sure that text message has been erased. Oops.)

Oh, you wanted a visual?

Meet Harry Crumb

This is Harry Crumb. He was rescued two-and-a-half months ago from under the porch at my in-laws' house and spared the life of a feral cat. Instead, he is a spoiled and rambunctious, yet very well loved, mostly-indoor kitty. He is often referred to as "Crumb," "Crumb-Crumb," or just "Kitty," and when he isn't playing with the most random things around the house, he can be found curled up with the dog or on our bed. He makes a fantastic little heater at night.

You may wonder why I am introducing him to you after all this time... Well, you see, I have no doubt that there will be at least one post in the near future involving Crumb-Crumb, and I thought it best for you to have already met him before you read of his adventures, but hopefully no misadventures!

Ponderings

The baby is fussing. He is tired, but his bed is currently occupied by Batman (well, it's Batman's bed, but Boo sleeps there when he's here...) and he is not interested in falling asleep on the couch. So instead, I hold him. Rubbing his head and his ears, I watch him as his eyes get heavy and close, and I begin to ponder.



Jesus, what were You like when You were a baby? When You were tired, did your mother hold you while you fell asleep or did she lay You down in Your bed, kiss Your forehead, and walk away? Could she bear to put You down and walk away? Did your lashes sweep down on Your cheeks as you slept or were they short little wisps that didn't reach Your cheeks? Did Your hair stick up in silky spikes all over, or were You bald til You were two? Was Your tiny fist curled around Mary's thumb, or was Your hand open and relaxed while You slept? Did Your mother know the unspeakable joys and sorrows that she would experience as the mother of our Savior, or did she just relish the joy and the beauty of You? At six months old, were people stopping to look and coo at You because You were a baby (and everyone loves babies) or were You already drawing people to Yourself?

Just wondered.

The Reason

There is less than two weeks left until Christmas, and I look at my list of things that I still need to get done and sigh.

♦ Cookies:

◊ Grandma’s press cookies
◊ Chocolate peppermint cookies
◊ Peanut butter blossoms (We ate all the ones that mom sent home on Friday. Yes, we’re lushes sometimes. Yes, they were very tasty.)
◊ ANOTHER batch of Mrs. O’s sugar cookies. VERY important

♦ Make cookie trays from said cookies + the cookies that we already did on Friday (the ones that actually lasted the weekend around here…)
♦ Deliver said cookie trays to K&K, Carquest, H-city fire department (for all their help – technically it’s from us, but it is F-town Fire Department’s “thank you”)
♦ Christmas cards
♦ Pick up and wrap remaining presents from mom’s house
♦ Put together gifts for Batman’s family
♦ Learn song to do with the brothers for the Christmas program on Sunday
♦ Get ahold of the brother with the idea to find out what song it is – again. (Ahem, Z, if you’re reading… I, uh, needtoberemindedofwhatsongwearedoing. I am pretty sure that text message has been erased. Oops.)

Then I take a breath and remember something that Aunt Pat posted on Rachel's page the other day: (in a nutshell) It isn't about the project, it is about the relationship.

It isn't about all of those things that I "need" to get done. It is about the relationships that I build in the meantime. And most of all, it is about our Savior. Not the cookies, not the presents, not even the snow. This is a time to reflect on Him, and thank Him for the ultimate gift: His Son, and therefore, Life.

Off to Grandma's House

Over the river and through the woods,
To grandmother's house we go;
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh,
Through the white and drifted snow, O!

Over the river and through the woods,
Oh how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes, and bites the nose,
As over the ground we go.

Over the river and through the woods,
To have a first-rate play;
Oh hear the bells ring, "Ting-a-ling-ling!"
Hurrah for Christmas Cookie Baking Day, Hey!

Over the river and through the woods,
Trot fast my dapple gray!
Spring over the ground, like a hunting hound!
For this is Christmas Cookie Baking Day, Hey!

Over the river and through the woods,
And straight through the barnyard gate,
We seem to go extremely slow.
It is so hard to wait!

Over the river and through the woods,
Now grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun! Is the cookie dough done?
Hurrah for the Christmas cookies!

Silent Night

What to do on a quiet, snowy night when either a) everyone else is sleeping or b) no one else is home?






Curl up in the recliner with a cup of tea and some knitting and enjoy the peace and the silence.

My Bubble

I LOVE Christmas shopping online. Period. I think that there is no other way to do it. Case and point: I was at Kmart (simply because Walmart does not do layaway anymore, and sometimes you just need layaway to store your stuff so it isn't hidden in the pantry for little people to find) today to pay part of our layaway. I was blissfully ALONE (aside from the littles - I let them tag along this time) in the layaway section, and suddenly, a hoard of people swarmed in. I almost tweaked. One woman came up and positioned herself and her cart next to me - not behind me in line - NEXT TO ME. She was getting very close to my bubble. Then, another woman came along side me on the other side, hovered over my purse (definitely INSIDE my bubble at this point) and asked if Kmart "does" layaway. Uh, yes. They do. By now, "having a tweak" as The Girl would say, was imminent. Not IF, but WHEN. One more woman nearly tipped the scales. The layaway-wonderer moved on, and another woman took her place. I caught sight of a dazzling, ear-to-ear smile out of the corner of my eye, drew a breath and turned my head to see who was inside my bubble this time. The tension eased out of my body and I let out a laugh as I saw the source of the dazzling smile was one of my friends from church. We left layaway together talking about the merits of online shopping. Less people. Hurray!

In keeping with the desire to remain thankful in all things, I'm quite thankful for miss L today. She was a breath of fresh air in the crazy mass of bodies Christmas shopping. I am also quite thankful for online shopping. :)

Merry Almost-Christmas and Happy Shopping, everyone!