Celebrate Make Your own Holiday Day Today!

March 26th is "Make Your Own Holiday"; a day to celebrate whatever you want.  There are no rules!  Just have fun with it and celebrate whatever makes you happy.

As for me, I'm making today,  "Mom is out of ICU and soon to be home again Day"; a day to celebrate modern medicine and wonderful nurses and hospital staff.  I can't say enough good things about all of the caring people at St. Joseph's Hospital - from Esther, our ER nurse, Joe, Michael and Dave our ICU nurses, to the Doorman with the constant warm smile and to any other staff who recognized a "confused look" out in the Hospital corridors.  We couldn't ask for any better care.

And of course we are thankful for God's unfailing presence during these past few days.   He does indeed, provide just what you need, just when you need it.  It is His promise and He does keep it!!!

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Morning Coffee - Merry Christmas Memories!

This is not - by any stretch of the imagination - a DYI, HGTV or Martha Stewart type blog but I did create a fun simple project last week that I am very happy with and thought I would share.   

One thing my family and friends know about me is that I LOVE a new notebook.  So, as is usually the case, I received two new ones as Christmas gifts.  Granddaughter Meghan gave me one that I am now using for my knitting notes and my friend Audrey gave me a Christmas themed one.

Matthew 2:10:  “When they saw the star, they were filled with joy.”

Using this notebook, I decided to make a simple record of our Christmas 2010 – and then continue with each Christmas hereafter.  Simple being the operative word here; very simple!  

First I made a bullet list of activities and highlights of our month.  I listed the Advent book I used, fun decorating ideas, cookies baked, gifts given/received and services attended.  Just quick little notes.

Next I created at my Walgreen’s photo store a 5 x 7 collage print of 7 or so pictures from our month.  I attached that to the page opposite my bullet list.  And presto I now have a permanent record of Christmas 2010.  Additionally I tucked in one of the greeting cards we sent this year and I may include a few other cards and photos received.

“Easy peasy” as my daughter would say.  Yet next December it will be fun to relive the events of this past Christmas and add to it memories of Christmas 2011 – and then 2012 and so forth!

I believe I’m going to pour another cup of coffee, grab one of Mom’s good sugar cookies and once again enjoy my memories of Christmas 2010!

Merry Christmas!

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Morning Coffee - Getting it Righter!

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.  ~Oprah Winfrey

It seems that no matter how philosophically or spiritually I look at the beginning of a new year, it really just comes down to this.  I start the year with a new notebook, a new outlook and a new determination – hoping against all hopes that this will be the year that I get it right righter!

With a raised mug of coffee, I offer a hearty "Cheers" to a wonderful new year!

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Christmas 2.0

Merry Christmas!

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Family Wrapping Party

Silliness first

Three special grandkids!!

Two special kids!  

 

Seems like only yesterday that they were sitting under the tree in their pjs!  A fun time wrapping was had by all - and then came the snow!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving."

~ W. T. Purkiser

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Beginning to Prepare

It’s hard not to begin to plan for the upcoming Christmas season; the stores have been sporting decorations for weeks and retail radio and TV ads already have a decidedly Holiday theme. So I’m sure I’m not alone in my beginning to prepare.  This past week I found two things to use during this season of Christmas. The first is book for Advent devotions - Watch for the Light.

This is the Product Description:

“From Johann Christoph Arnold to Dorothy Day, from Madeline L'Engle to Karl Barth, from Saint Thomas Aquinas to Meister Eckhart, this unparalleled anthology offers wisdom beauty and spiritual nourishment from a wide spectrum of classic and contemporary sources.”

“Containing a selection for each day of the Christmas season, from the last week of November through the first week of January, Watch for the Light can be read through times of leisure or as a guide to daily devotions. Either way it will give new meaning to the phrase ‘holiday preparations.’"

I’m really looking forward to reading and meditating on these various writings and writers.

Secondly, a visit to our favorite thrift store yielded this little treasure. I already have several of these small plastic ornaments from the sixties. So it was fun to find another for my collection. I love the little details – right down to the “Gloria” banner held by the angel.

I think it might be time to bring out the others to enjoy, too.
Merry Christmas!

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Trick or Treat!

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ON HALLOWEEN

On Halloween I'll go to town

And wear my trousers upside down,

and wear my shoes turned inside out

And wear a wig of sauerkraut.

Shel Silverstein 

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