Outside Christmas Lights

Today's theme is "nighttime" but I am choosing to do one I missed on the 16th  - "outside Christmas lights."

Since we live in an apartment, hanging outside lights isn't an option, but driving around to look at outside displays that others have created has always been one of my favorite things to do during the Christmas season.  Below is a picture of one that I thought was pretty on our way home this evening.  

Ornament

"Ornament" was the theme for December 8th.  Since I didn't photograph an ornament on that day and couldn't quite capture something representing "grateful" today, I thought I would photograph this.  

The day we were leaving GA, J&BA presented each of us with gifts from Burkina Faso and Mali, neighboring countries in Africa.  This ornament is the gift that was given to A.  I believe it is a dried gourd that has been sanded and carved.  It is beautiful and the detail is amazing.  

Morning

Merry Christmas!

Favorite Part(s) Of Christmas Eve

Today's photo challenge was to capture my favorite part of Christmas Eve.  That is hard.  The first thing is not something that I could take a picture of.  After the service held at church this evening, DL said "Merry Christmas" to me.  This may seem like a small thing but when I explain, you will know why it is top of my list.   DL has Huntington's disease.  For her to say something that clearly is unusual and for her to choose to use those words with me is a blessing I am not sure how to articulate.  How could I capture that moment with a picture?  

Next on my list of favorite parts of Christmas Eve was sharing a meal with N&CP.  N is from Costa Rica.  One of their traditions is to share a meal with family on Christmas Eve at midnight.  So, the P family invited us to share in that tradition this year.  Several families from the homeschool co-op were there.  Because so many in the group have small children, they chose to serve the meal at 10:00 pm instead of midnight.  We arrived at 8:00 to play games and hang out.  I now know how to play chicken foot dominoes!  Then we had tamales and rice for dinner.  It was delicious!  Pictured below is N&CP with A(on N's lap), S(on C's lap) and J(standing); little I was already in bed when we arrived.  The picture was taken near the end of the evening, well past the typical bedtime for these amazing youngsters.  I snapped 30 pictures and yet didn't get one where S was sitting still. This was the best shot.  

As mentioned earlier, we had a service at church this evening as well.  It is the first Christmas Eve service that has been held at this church for as long as I have been attending.  It was definitely one of my favorite parts of the day this year.  Pictured is our youth pastor preparing to lead us in worship.  

Tree Topper

Miracle made this when she was in pre-K.  As she got older, I tried to replace it with a more formal tree topper but nothing else seems right atop our tree.

Candy Cane/It Worked For Me! Wednesday

I got this idea off of Pinterest and Angelica modified it a bit to come up with a gift to give people.

Jesus is the Gentle Shepherd

and this cane of red and white

proclaims the humble story

born on Christmas night.

This cane, you see,

when turned around

begins His name of Love

and now becomes a symbol

of peace proclaimed above.

The lively peppermint flavor

is the regal gift of spice.

The white is His purity

and the red His sacrifice.

And so this cane reminds us

just how much He cares

and like His Christmas Gift to us

it's meant for all to share.

Stockings

Presents

Favorite Holiday Song

I received this CD with a box of diaper wipes when the girls were little.  We didn't even own a CD player at the time.  We smile every year when we pull this CD out and listen to it.  Our favorite song is Tigger's version of Jingle Bells.  

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way

Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh - hey!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh - hey!

Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh
Over the fields we go laughing all the way
Bells on bobtails ring making spirits bright
What fun it is to laugh and sing a sleighing song tonight

Oh - Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh - hey!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh - hey!

A day or two ago, this story I must tell
I went out in the snow and on my back I fell.
Little Roo was riding by, in a one horse open sleigh
he laughed as in the snow I lie and asked if I could play

Oh - Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh - hey!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh - hey!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh - hey!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh - hey!

PS I decided to take as many pictures for the photo challenge as possible before leaving home and schedule them to post while we are away.

Christmas Tree

Family

The picture is poor quality and the lighting is bad but we had fun with the pose.  We are all busy packing and I didn't want to take much time to capture today's moment.  This is my family in its entirety.  There is not extended family although there are quite a few people in our "framily" ie those people that are closer than friends but not related by blood or adoption.    I am not sure how blogging will look for the next week or so. I know I will keep up with the photo challenges but I don't know if I will post again until we get home.  I will catch up with a "post a day" then.  Take care and  Merry Christmas!

A Beautiful Sight/It Worked For Me! Wednesday

The snoman display is probably my favorite thing we put up every winter.  It goes up after Thanksgiving and stays until after Valentine's Day with a few modifications as the winter wears on.  For the entire time it is up, it brings a smile to my face. 

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A few weeks ago, Pastor said on a Sunday morning that they would like some snowflakes to decorate the front of the church and I quickly volunteered.  I remembered from a few years ago that the trick to getting a good snowflake was in the fold; specifically the paper should be folded in multiples of three, but I couldn't remember those specifics so I turned to Pinterest.  Sure enough, I found this tutorial and together the girls and I made snow flakes for church.  We were greeted with compliment after compliment about how pretty the snow flakes were when we attended church this past Sunday.  Definite success!

Green

Today's photo challenge was green.  I started the day with the intent of making a collage of every green thing I saw.  That plan derailed when the camera went dead.   Here are all the green things I photographed before that happened.  

Wrapping Paper

Today's topic is "wrapping paper."  I always try to have a very specific variety of wrapping paper at home.  These include snowman or winter theme, ornaments, something that represents my faith, something that can be used as birthday paper in a pinch, and Santa.  I think I might be a bit OCD about the wrapping paper.  

There are a few more shots in the collage above that need explaination.  The snowman on the right is an empty shoe box that was wrapped the year that Angelica was in a skating program.  It was a prop that she used.  It brings a smile to my face every year so I can't bring myself to get rid of it.  

Bottom center is a box that was wrapped in a variety of papers that were left over from a Girl Scout event.  We wrapped gifts in a patchwork pattern for years just trying to use all of the leftovers up.  

The blue one in the center is a close up of the paper that represents my faith that we currently have.  

Top center is a box that Miracle filled and wrapped for me the Christmas she was four.  It has never been opened and always goes under my tree.  I am a bit sentimental.  

Top left is the most important box that goes under our tree each year.  It has been wrapped in that paper since 2001.  Each year, we take some time out to decide what gift to give to Jesus.  It is often the ugliest part of ourselves, the thing that we most need for God to change. Then we open the box and read the gifts we gave to Jesus the year before.  It is a reminder of how much we have grown and how much God has brought us through.  It is a gift given to Christ, but ultimately a gift for ourselves as well.  

Wrapping paper is just something to decorate a box and hide what is inside, to make a pretty presentation but much like us, the outside isn't what matters.  The gift inside is what is important.  Jesus knows that and He chose so very long ago to come to earth as a baby knowing He would ultimately die a gruesome death.  God was willing to do all of this so that we could spend eternity with Him.

Simply Sunday

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the LORD always. I will say it again: rejoice!

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In participating with the photo challenge, today's word was "What You Are Reading" and the truth is with the fog that my brain is often in from the lupus, I am not currently doing much reading aside from what is required for teaching the girls and scripture. I can't remember the last book I read and I am not in the scriptures as much as I would like.  This passage in Philippians that Angelica has memorized this fall is one I keep mulling over and re-reading.  I need to hear what God is saying in these verses.  I don't know if anyone else is really blessed by the Simply Sunday, but I know it is something that I need.  I am sorry if anyone came looking earlier and it wasn't there.  I will try to be more on top of things.  I have just been so tired from the lupus lately that lots of things are slipping by me. God bless.

Bright/Snapshot Saturday

Once again, I am dong the wrong word.  Today's word is "ornaments."  We actually got most of the tree up, but the ornaments I most wanted to photograph are still in boxes and I was able to capture some really fun moments with the girls playing with the lights, so I am choosing to do "bright" today.

Favorite Holiday Movie

OK.  First off, today's challenge was "Bright" but since I'm not feeling well, and since I made it a point to stay home today, and since the weather was a bit overcast, and since our tree isn't up yet.... I couldn't find anything "bright " to photograph.  

So... I decided to look back at the photo challenges I skipped over on the 1st and the 2nd and chose to do "Favorite Holiday Movie."

This is my favorite holiday movie for a few reasons.  I can sit down to watch it feeling down and by the time it is over, I am happier.  Mostly because of the memories it brings up.  We got this the first year Angelica participated in figure skating.  She was so young and so happy even though life was chaotic with her illness.  That year and the year after we went through some really hard things, but when I watch this movie I am not reminded of the difficulty of facing those events.  Instead I am reminded of the wondrous love of God that brought us through it all.  

Shopping

We went to the store today and this is all we bought.  We have things in the freezer to compliment these things and added together it will make three dinners.  Not bad.  We are blessed to have such abundance.  

Today's Temp/It Worked For Me! Wednesday

WOW!  It's December in Nebraska and we aren't wearing coats!  It feels like spring or fall but not Christmas, that's for sure.  

*I realized after posting this that it is Wednesday.  What can I say?  I'm not feeling well and details like that are slipping by me... Anyway, I figure that these posts I am making work as a Worked For Me! post because it started as a result of something I saw on Pinterest.*

Joyous

Any time the sun is shining and the weather is nice enough for a picnic in December is a joyous occasion.  The sound of the Salvation Army bells ringing in the background just adds to that moment.