He is the Gift

Amid the shopping, wrapping, decorating, baking, celebrating, and let's be honest,  stress of the christmas season….this video helped me bring my thoughts and my heart back to the true reason my family and I celebrate December 25th.

i wonder as i wander, christmas houses, and ebay

I have many beautiful memories of christmases from when I was young.  One of the most vivid and happy images in my mind is my mom's collection of vintage putz Christmas houses.   Some of which were passed to my mom from my grandma and others, finds at our local antique store.  These glittering little card board houses with bottle brush trees from 1920's seemed kind of magic to me as a child. They were different then all the brassy glitter and overdone tinsel and decorations of the 70's. They had a charm and uniqueness about them that I loved.
       Last year, I set off on an ebay adventure to purchase my own Christmas houses.   It turned out to be quite an ebay "learning" curve and kind of a joke with my kids as I entered the bidding wars.  I even had a special prompt on my phone to let me know when I had been out bid.  I am such and all or nothing person.  In the end, and thanks to some good bidding advice from my brother-in-law (thanks George!), victory was mine (along with this great collection of houses).  Most of them show some wear and tear.  Some more than others. I kind of like that.

They sit on top of my beloved robin egg blue hutch. Sometimes they are a conversation around our dinner table. 

Like last week, when I noticed that the red house had lost it's light…

"That's because it's being robbed." replied Drew. After laughing about this prospect and the introduction of crime into my sweet and blissful village we started discussing other events that might be taking place.

Me,  "Well, I think that must be  the major's house, and he really needs to get a handle on the cities crime problem." 

Gentry, "I can see him looking at us".

"That house is on fire, someone should tell them." 

"And by the way mom, your church is missing it's steeple".  Remember, I reminded everyone, "They're vintage"

As the conversation continued, I couldn't help but think about my own house, and my own life, and wonder what people sometimes think when they look into our windows.  There was something about my Christmas village that suddenly made me ponder that way I see others and the way I sometimes judge others.  Is that weird?  I don't know, the older I get, the more symbolism I seem to see in everything around me.  

Like these Christmas houses….a little banged up, worn, but still beautiful... 

still colorful, still glittering. 

And I decided that I'm going to start looking a little deeper to find people's glitter and and beauty, and stop looking at the their broken window. 

my missionary

Christmas countdown: Five days.  Skyping and a phone call from my most very favorite missionary: Five days. 

Last week Sadie sent us this pic.

How I love these Sister missionaries.  How I love their hearts, and their enthusiasm, and courage.  How I love that they've put their lives on hold to help someone else find joy in theirs. How I love their smiles and their tenacity and their creativity ( don't have a fireplace? then break out the construction paper and make one).  But more than anything, I love their powerful testimonies of our Heavenly Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.  This is what Sadie shared in her last email…

"OK so I really just wanted to say that I checked off something off my bucket list last night- We had a fireside at the Spring Stake Center- it was HUGE! So the last song the choir sang was, of course, the Halluejuah chorus. Oh. My. Goodness. So they invited anyone who wanted to sing to come up, and so Christina (our recent convert) and I went up, and we sang our  hearts out, it filled the whole church with a powerful message: "And He shall reign forever and ever, King of the Kings, and Lord of the Lords, forever, and ever." I felt the Spirit so strong as it bore witness to me that this is true! He reigns above all and He loves and watches over us. There is nothing more powerful than Him. 

     My testimony is this- I know that the Savior lives and that He died for each of us. He knows our trials, and our heartaches, and He came to this Earth, born as a little baby, and He grew to understand each of us and what we experience. Mortality is not easy. But we all agreed to come down here, so that we could gain experience, and eventually return to our Father in Heaven. I came on a mission to gain experience, and I will come back to y'all here soon. But my mission doesn't end there! I will forever be seeking out God's children, to let each and every person know that they are loved, and they are special, and they are worth more than they can ever comprehend... Most of all- I know that He lives! I know Jesus Christ lives today, and He will never forsake us. I have been broken, I have been tested to my limits, but so was He. He descended below all. As to quote one of our members, " I don't know how He did it, but I will forever be grateful." 

Happy Sunday dear readers.

thanksgiving 2014

So, here's our thanksgiving (finally).  Filled with lots of smiles, cute teens, tweens, kids, and a baby. Plus some really good food, amazing weather, and an intense game of "man-tracker".  And, oh yeah, a birthday. Cause our youngest child is now twelve. Happy Birthday Gentry!

 
 
 

a little giggle

So my tree is up, but not decorated.  And this morning I finally managed to mail our christmas cards (can I get a Hallelujah?)   Things have been crazy here, so I've been managing my stress with lots of chocolate and goodies (thank you Moose Munch!).   But yesterday Gentry, our in-house comedian, reminded me that laughter also combats stress with this video clip.  I love this little comedy troupe, Studio C.  I  love that they've found a way to be funny and clean. And I especially love this tongue in cheek take that completely sums up the way I feel about technology sometimes.  Enjoy.

silent night

Happy friday dear readers.  It's December fifth today and as of 5:10 in the p.m. I have not

1. purchased a single christmas gift (other than Sadie's that had to be mailed last week)

2. taken a family pic yet for our christmas cards (that I hope to actual mail before christmas)

3. put up our christmas tree

4. or even managed to download my thanksgiving pics

                                      but….

Remember McKenna Faith and the Believers? Yesterday Lisa (McKenna's mom) sent me this…

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7NK8cpN3S_g&feature=youtu.be

and I was grateful to remember was it's really all about. And suddenly, those other things didn't seem so important.

Christmas Sign Giveaway Winner

Congratulations Michele!!!

You are the winner of the Pottery Barn vintage christmas sign!

A big, huge thank you to all of you who entered!!!

Look for the next quarterly giveaway on

 February 1st, 2015.